Bella Donna's
by robjoy
Summary: King Lear, told from the 2nd generation point of view, set in modern-day Massachusetts
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Georgia would make her signature Wild Mushroom Risotto for his birthday. He'd like that. They all liked it. And for good reason; it was delicious. Her secret was to add just a hint of … well, now, it wouldn't be a secret any more, would it? She grinned wickedly at the thought of how many times she'd said this to patrons asking for the recipe.

She walked through the back door to Bella Donna's and locked it behind her. Not that you had to worry about junkies or whores in the morning, but there was no one else in the restaurant and it was better to be safe than sorry. She liked the solitude of the start of the day. Bella Donna's was open for dinner only, but Georgia often came in before the rest of the staff to make the last minute adjustments to the specials menu. Her philosophy was, "No matter how well you think everything through, it rarely goes as you planned." But despite it, or perhaps because of it, she made a habit of being utterly thorough and having a plan for it all.

This birthday party for Leo was going to be a pain the ass. He was a tyrant of a father when she was growing up and she didn't like him very much. He'd fought constantly with her mother. Georgia didn't have very many memories of her, but she did remember that her mother had had enough one day and left, leaving Leo and Georgia alone. He blamed Georgia for it, even though Georgia knew better. He immediately remarried and had another daughter, Regina. That was his longest relationship; they were married for 8 years. They'd left the girls with a babysitter and went to a 4th of July party. They caught a ride home with the neighbors and were in a bad car accident. The neighbor's blood alcohol content was .13. Leo was the only one who survived. After a string of women that resulted in Georgia heading to college as far away from him as she could get, he married his last wife who also died giving birth to their only daughter, Christina. Georgia was 22 by this time. Although he'd mellowed out, he never remarried.

She was 40 now and still didn't like him. She tolerated him now because she was Head Chef of the restaurant that he owned. She often thought she should be more grateful that he'd given her that position, but couldn't bring herself to feel it. She had put in too many hours washing greasy pots in a sweltering kitchen to feel gratitude. And besides, she'd deserved it. She had a wall full of awards and framed reviews of her dishes from when she was in New York.

The phone rang and interrupted her bitter reminisces. She looked at the display and saw Allen's name. She let it ring three more times, debating on whether to ignore it or not. She and Allen slept in separate bedrooms now and were barely on speaking terms. She picked it up, "Hey."

"I know how much you hate being interrupted in the kitchen, but Leo stopped by and I told him you were at the restaurant. He's headed there now. I thought you should know," he said.

"Is that it?"

He paused briefly, "I talked to Michael last night."

"It doesn't matter what your shrink says. Why aren't you fighting for us? You used to be ambitious; you used to be fiery and passionate. I thought you could rule the world. I don't care if you're having some sort of midlife crisis of conscience. You're not taking me or us seriously and you're being spineless."

He sighed, "You can be really mean sometimes, you know?"

"That's only because I thought you were capable of so much more and I was wrong. I'm disappointed, okay?"

He didn't respond. Georgia huffed and said, "I don't have time for this Allan, especially if Leo is headed over here. Are you coming to the party tonight?"

"Do you want me there?"

Georgia gritted her teeth and said, "Everyone will expect you to be there. And for some ungodly reason, Leo likes you. It would be nice for him if you were there."

He gave a noncommittal response and hung up. Georgia stared at the phone for what seemed like an eternity, wanting to fling it through the wall. Wanting to fling it at him and get him riled up. They used to be quite a power couple. Allan made a lot of money on Wall Street and one day, just quit. He didn't talk to her about it, he didn't ask her what she thought, he just quit. He said he was tired of the ruthless, cutthroat business and wanted to do something to help people. He'd invested well and they wouldn't hurt for money, even with his lack of salary; but that was not the man she married, nor was it the man she wanted. She wanted danger. She wanted excitement. He used to want that too, but now it seemed like he wanted exactly the opposite. Like folk music and community gardens were more his speed. She didn't get it. It was foolish, that's what it was. She snapped the phone closed and shoved it in her pocket.

What was she doing? Wasting time and anxiety over Allan when Leo was on his way, that was what. And it _was _wasted time. Almost as bad as wasting time dealing with Leo, who probably just wanted to talk about his birthday plans. Sixty-five and no signs of retirement. Georgia wished he would just let her run the restaurant her way and be done with it. And really, with Regina to manage the finances, there was nothing left for Leo to do but get in the way.

The party was in two days and she was sure she had thought everything through. They were holding it in Bella Donna's function room, which held 125 and would be full to capacity. Leo was well known and respected. The staff was booked with a couple extra on call just in case. The guests had all RSVP'd, the band was booked, the mayor had his toast speech prepared (she'd check with his secretary), the staff would decorate in the morning, the food had been bought and Georgia would be supervising the cooking. She'd even arranged for Yellow Taxi to have some cars loop the area in case the guests had too much to drink. Except for the last minute addition of the risotto, every detail was planned. Well, almost. She still had to make one last phone call to the Liquor Store to make sure her special order came in. But she'd do that after Leo left. She didn't want him walking in on that conversation. She might not have liked him very much, but she respected his taste in bourbon and wanted to get him something special: the A. H. Hirsch Reserve 16 Year.

While she was waiting for Leo to get there, she pulled up the menu for the party to add the risotto. She'd run to the wholesale market herself to get what she needed. She saved the menu and clicked out of Word just as she heard the key in the lock. Her solitude never lasted long enough.

"So Kid, everything all set for Saturday?"

Georgia rolled her eyes, "Yes Leo. Why do you even ask me that? I always have everything covered and you know it."

He grinned that irritating grin that said he was trying to get a rise out of her and chuckled. "Hey, do you think that just for Saturday, you might call me 'Dad?' I've got something up my sleeve that I'm going to announce and I want to make sure everyone there knows you three girls are my daughters."

Georgia cringed at the possible change of plans, but tried to keep it from showing on her face. He thrived on causing stress. "Leo, everyone _does_ know you're our father."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said, "But I just want to make it clear."

"How about we just wear name tags: "Hello, my name is…Leo's First Daughter."

"Nobody likes a smart-ass, Kid."

"Don't I know it better than anyone, Leo." There was a pause in the conversation, so she continued, "Did you come over here for anything other than to torture me?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I was out, so I thought I'd stop and check. I want to run over to Donny's anyway. He says he's got a new kid managing for him and I want to meet him."

"I heard that, but you don't need to waste your time this morning: Donny's bringing him on Saturday. He called me on Tuesday to make sure he could add one to his RSVP."

He turned to walk back out the door and called over his shoulder, "Yeah, well, you know me; I wanna know all the peons in my little kingdom. Make sure they're taking care of business."

Georgia shook her head. Leo never changed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 1

Georgia stepped into the shower and let the wet heat erase her thoughts. For a moment anyway. Despite her best efforts to keep her mind blank, she kept returning to Leo's statement about having something up his sleeve. It was just one more detail that might go wrong, but hadn't been able to come up with a plan to deal with it. She'd call Regina after she got out of the shower and talk it over with her. They were usually on the same page regarding Leo, unlike Christina, who doted on him. And he on her. She snorted out loud at that thought. How ridiculous was it that Christina, who was so beautiful at 18 that she could wrap men around her little finger, wanted nothing to do with any of them but Leo. Leo. Unbelievable. Georgia shook her head to get them out of it and let the water stream over her. She'd finish up and call Regina. That was a good next step.

She toweled off and got dressed. She stared at herself in the mirror as she dragged a brush through her long hair. _Forty_, she thought, _and I still look damn good. I could pick up a twenty-something and take him on a trip to Cougarville._ She shook her head again. She was still married, even if Allen would rather watch chickens lay than lay her. She sighed and picked up the phone. "Hey Gina, it's me. Are you busy?"

"Just getting ready for tonight, what's up?"

"Have you talked to Leo lately?"

"No, not really. I hate talking to him. He either wants to know who hasn't paid their bills or talk about those damn dogs. Who gives a frog's fat ass about those stupid mutts of his? I think he's jealous that his studs get more action than he does and has to live vicariously though them."

Georgia could always count on Regina to say something inappropriate and funny. "You're probably right. He loves those dogs more than us."

"Which is okay because we don't give a frog's fat ass about him either."

"Damn straight. But, you're getting me off-topic. The other day, he said he had something up his sleeve about the party tonight. Any idea what's going on?"

Regina paused while she thought about it, "The lawyer called looking for him on Tuesday, but he wouldn't tell me what it was all about. I bet he's changing his will now that Christina is 18. And he probably wants to make some big deal about it so that everyone knows."

"God, I hope that's it. I can deal with that. I'd rather listen to him make a fool of himself over Christina than listen to him convince the band to let him sing."

"If I have to listen to him sing 'My Way' one more time, I might commit suicide. Keep your cooking knives handy just in case. We might need them."

Georgia heard the garage door go up, "Gina, I have to go. Allan's just got here and I need to have a talk with him."

"Okay G. See you tonight."

"Yep. See ya." She snapped the phone closed and put it on her dresser. She quickly slipped out of her clothes and wrapped the towel back around herself. She took another look at herself in the mirror to make sure it look like she'd just gotten out of the shower and headed downstairs.

"Where were you this time? The community compost? You look like shit." He didn't actually. He looked… mmm. His t-shirt had a smear of dirt on it and he was slightly sweaty. _Dammit he's still so hot_, she thought. _Two years ago, he'd have walked through the door looking like that and we'd be on the kitchen floor before you could say 'hey there.' And look what I'm reduced to now; walking around half naked to 'try' to seduce my own soon-to-be-ex-husband. _She didn't really want to be doing this, but it was the best way to a fight. To get him riled up. And maybe if she got him riled up, he'd actually want her.

"I was helping out at the fairgrounds. They needed help getting the tents and booths set up for the festival. Did you just get out of the shower?"

"Way to state the obvious, genius. I heard the garage door go up just as I was stepping out and I wanted to talk to you."

He stared at her cleavage, "Talk?"

"Yes. Talk. Why? Did you have something else in mind?" Georgia fingered the top of her towel.

He took two steps closer to her and reached out to touch her wet hair. Georgia took a step back out of his reach. The confused look on his face was priceless. "Hold it. That wasn't an invitation, you ass."

"It sounded like it to me."

"Yeah, well, maybe if you were actually interested in us anymore, it might have been. But you're off building the Land of Make Believe instead of helping me with last minute party stuff."

Allan shook his head, "You never need help. You always have everything under control. I don't even understand why you think you need me around."

"I don't need you, but I used to want you. I used to see how powerful you were, how you could manipulate your clients and your competition and it was a rush for me. Do you know how sexy it was to see you snap your fingers and have people jump to get you what you wanted? And when you came home, the first thing you'd do to get rid of the stress of your day was to drop your briefcase and grab me. Not play little seduction games, just grab me. A fuck before dinner. An appetizer. What happened to that man? Huh? That potent, sexy, commanding man that used to make me hot just by walking through the door? All I see before me is a weak, milky shadow of what used to be. You're pathetic."

Allan looked at her blankly. He said nothing for a few seconds, then turned and walked upstairs. Georgia heard the door to the guest room slam and growled in frustration.

2

Regina pulled four dresses out of her closet and put them on the bed. She stood in front of the mirror in just her bra and underwear taking turns holding them up in front of her until she could decide on what to wear tonight.

"It doesn't matter what you wear, you know it's going to end up in a heap on the floor before tonight's over," Ken said. He was stretched out on the bed, naked as the day he was born. "In fact, why don't we just practice that part right now. Come here."

She dropped the dress she was holding and turned to face him. Even though she'd never admit it, she loved that nothing was more important to him than her. She touched her left index finger to her lip as she slipped her right hand inside her panties. "Ken, you can see I'm getting ready for Leo's party tonight. I'm busy." She sucked her finger inside her mouth.

He grinned and rolled off the bed to come stand in front of her. She started to kneel in front of him as the phone rang. It had to be Georgia. Who else could it possibly be? She probably had some minute detail she needed to rehash for the forty-seventh time. Jesus, that woman needed to relax. She looked at Ken, who shrugged, then picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey Gina, It's me. Are you busy?"

_Just about to get busy, you interrupting cow, _she thought. "Just getting ready for tonight. What's up?"

"Have you talked to Leo lately?"

Ken stepped around behind her and unclasped her bra. She wriggled out if it, "No, not really. I hate talking to him." He reached around and pinched her nipple. She swatted his hand away, "He either wants to know who hasn't paid their bills or talk about those damn dogs. Who gives a…" He had moved around in front of her and reached down and bit her nipple this time. She tried not to give Georgia any clue about what was going on, "frog's fat ass about those stupid mutts of his? I think he's jealous that his studs get more action than he does…" She squirmed out of his grip, turned around, grabbed his dick and squeezed, "and has to live vicariously through them."

Georgia murmured something about him loving the dogs. Regina wasn't really listening, but she responded "Which is okay because we don't give a frog's fat ass about him either."

Ken grabbed the hand that was holding his dick, stepped back and knelt in front of her. As his tongue touched her most sensitive area, she paused. She could hardly think. "The, uh, lawyer called looking for him on Tuesday, but he wouldn't tell me what it was all about. I bet he's…" She gasped as his fingers joined his tongue, "changing his will now that Christina is 18. And he probably wants to make some big deal about it so that everyone knows."

Georgia replied, "blah blah blah blah blah."

How fast could she get off the phone so she could get off? That was the pressing issue at hand, "If I have to listen to him sing 'My Way' one more time, I might commit suicide. Keep your cooking knives handing just in case. We might need them."

Georgia said something about Allan. Regina really couldn't care less, "Okay G. See you tonight." She hung up the phone and tossed it to the floor. She turned to Ken and pulled his hair. "You fucker." She wasn't really mad at him, but it was more fun that way.

He wiped his mouth and stood up. "You love it and you know it."

"That's not the point."

"I'll give you the point."

She laughed at the ridiculous entendre and leaped on the bed.

3

Christina stared at the plus sign and stared at Jack. _This is not happening. It's not happening. I shouldn't have done this now. I've got to go to Dad's party and act like everything is ok when it's not._ She blinked once, twice and then couldn't hold the tears back. Jack put his arms around her and just held her while she sobbed. He was kind and strong and considerate. It was why she loved him, why she'd given herself to him.

She was positive Leo wouldn't understand. He was so protective of her, it was suffocating. She hadn't really had a mother, so Leo was both parents to her and she loved him intensely; but she had been looking forward to getting away to UMass in September. Just for a little space.

She couldn't talk to Georgia or Regina about this. Neither of them had children and they both were so judgmental. They were manipulative and condescending to her. She knew it was because of how Leo had treated them. He'd been a different parent to them that he'd been to her. And neither of them had really had a mother either, so she could hardly blame them for how they turned out.

That left Jack. She did love him, but she wasn't sure she was ready for this. She straightened up and looked at him. She opened her mouth to ask him what to do, but nothing would come out.

He put his hands on her cheeks, "Chrissy, honey, if you choose to, you'll make a great mom and I support that. And if you choose not to, then I'll support you in that choice too."

She choked out a sob, "Jack, we're so young. I don't know if I'm ready to make a choice about what to do."

"You don't have to make a decision today, but you do have to think it through. Why don't you put it out of your mind for tonight. Go get in the shower, get ready, and we'll go to your Dad's party. We can leave early and talk about some options afterwards."

Christina nodded her head. Jack was right and she knew it. She got into the shower and let the hot water rinse away some of the shock. She was 18, legally an adult. If she wanted to go to the clinic and discuss terminating the pregnancy, she could do that on her own. She wasn't sure she wanted to do that though. She could be the mother she'd never known. She took care of Leo right now, so she knew how to be a care-giver; she could cook, clean, run a household. How many 18 year olds knew how to do that?

The hot water was soothing and it helped calm her brain. Jack hadn't freaked out at the plus sign, so she was pretty sure he'd be supportive no matter what she decided. He was right. She could put it out of her mind and put on a happy face for Leo's party tonight. She could. She would.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 1

Georgia walked around the edge of the room, watching all the guests mingle. Not everyone who'd RSVP'd was here yet. And there hadn't been enough alcohol consumed yet to put everyone at ease, so there were little groups having private conversations here and there. Leo was standing near the microphone talking with Christina, the mayor and his wife and a young man that Georgia didn't recognize. Regina and Ken were standing at the bar. That was rather appropriate; everyone in the places where they felt most at home.

The function room door banged open and it startled several of the guests. Everyone turned to see what the commotion was. The commotion turned out to be Donny, who was a hulk of a man and never knew his own strength. Donny looked around at everyone staring at him and shrugged his shoulders. Leo raised his hand and Donny headed in that direction. He stopped to look over his shoulder at his companion. _That must be Ethan, _Georgia thought. She followed Donny's gaze and her mouth dropped open. _Ethan. Wow. Where have you been hiding my whole life? _Georgia shook her head to clear that thought and took a deep breath.

She turned towards the bar and noticed Regina was making a beeline over to her. "Who's that?" Regina hissed.

"I think that's Donny's new manager. He's yummy, isn't he? "

Regina smirked, "Very yummy, but behave you. That menu may look good, but you eat at home. You are still eating at home, aren't you? And speaking of eating at home, where's Allan?"

Georgia huffed, "He's not coming. We had a huge fight after I got off the phone with you. Or rather, I screamed at him while he just took it. I was hoping that getting him riled up would get him riled up, if you know what I mean. Useless. Pathetic. All we ever do lately is argue. He sleeps in the guest room now."

"Jesus G. What's going on? Tell me everything."

"No. Not here. Tonight's about Leo."

Regina tossed her hand over her head, "Leo can kiss my lily white ass. "

Georgia feigned shock, but didn't get a chance to reply before Leo tapped on the microphone and said, "Hey is this thing on?" Everyone turned to him expectantly.

2

Regina and Ken got to Bella Donna's slightly late. She didn't care. She wasn't the one throwing or organizing this ridiculous party. Who gave a fuck about Leo's birthday? She wasn't even certain he'd notice whether she was there or not. That was the fate of the middle child. He doted on his youngest and let the oldest herd him here and there. There was never time or energy left to deal with the middle. She knew that sounded bitter, but she really wasn't bitter. She accepted that as a fact of "Life With Leo" and it didn't bother her any more. Of course, the side effect of that was that she didn't have time for him either. C'est la vie. She had Ken and he satisfied her mind, body and soul. He completed her.

They went right to the bar and got drinks. Leo had sprung for an open bar, so that made having to be at this stupid charade at least tolerable. She got a SoCo Manhattan while Ken got his usual Vodka Martini, extra dirty. She was still in a post-orgasmic bliss and really didn't want to be here. She fished the cherry out of her drink. She stared Ken down while she wrapped her tongue around the cherry and bit. He stepped into her and put his hand on her hip. The door banging open distracted her and she turned towards the noise.

If mirror-ball lights appeared and a porn soundtrack suddenly started playing, she wouldn't have thought it strange at all. She loved Ken and he was her whole world, but damn. The guy that walked through the door after Donny was…mmmmm. She looked around for Georgia, told Ken to stay there and headed in her direction. "Who's that?" she said in a low voice.

"I think that's Donny's new manager. He's yummy, isn't he?"

Strangely, Regina felt a little jealous at that. There was really no reason for it. She'd never cheat on Ken. "Very yummy, but behave you. That menu may look good, but you eat at home." She inquired about Allan and wasn't surprised when Georgia mentioned something about a fight. They'd been on the outs for a while. Georgia could be really bitchy to Allan. She had to micro-manage everything and it looked to her like Allan was finally growing some balls. Good for him. She pasted on some false sympathy and asked Georgia to spill the beans, but Georgia wasn't biting.

"No. Not here. Tonight's about Leo."

Regina tossed her hand over her head like she'd seen Leo do so many times, "Leo can kiss my lily white ass."

The microphone thumped as she heard Leo say, "Hey, is this thing on?" and she turned to look at him.

3

Christina absently reached for Jack's hand, realized what she was doing and let it go. She'd done that several times already tonight and they'd only been here for an hour or so. The mayor's wife had asked her where she was going to go to college and when she found out Christina had been accepted to UMass, went on and on and on about it. Apparently, she'd gotten both her degrees there. Christina tried to follow the conversation because the mayor's wife was just trying to be friendly, but she wasn't sure if she'd really be going to college in the fall or not. It depended on whether… _Oh god, my stomach hurts, I hope I don't have to throw up._

She took a couple deep breaths and tried to calm down. She wouldn't think about that tonight. She was trying to get her mind back to the conversation when the door banged open and she was sufficiently distracted. Donny walked in and she was immediately relieved. She knew Donny would monopolize Leo's time for the rest of the evening and she could relax a little. A man walked in behind Donny and she saw him survey the room like he was picking out targets. _He looks like he's hunting. I wonder if Donny knows he should keep a close eye on that one, _she thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Regina making a bee-line over to Georgia. They stood there huddled in a private conversation with each other while they watched that man walking towards Leo. _Oh boy. I wonder what that's all about. _Donny thumped Leo on the back and wished him happy birthday; then he turned around, proudly put his arm around Ethan and introduced his as his new manager. Leo named off everyone in order and then fell into a conversation with Donny and the mayor and his wife.

Ethan edged himself out of the conversation and focused on Christina and Jack. He held his hand out to Jack, "Hey."

Jack clasped his hand, "Hey. Jack Lefevre. I'm Christina's boyfriend."

Ethan nodded and turned to Christina, "And, you're Leo's youngest daughter?"

She looked at him warily, "Yes, I am. Donny seems very fond of you. How do you know him?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, "You're pretty perceptive. I don't want it to get around because I don't want it to seem like he gave me the job because I'm family; but, Donny's my biological father." Christina watched a strange expression briefly cross his face. She thought it looked like resentment, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. "I was able to get my adoption papers opened last year and I looked him up."

She frowned, _Donny's not just going to have to keep a close eye on this one; Donny's going to have to watch his back too. _The microphone thumped and Leo's amplified voice interrupted her thought as she heard Leo say, "Hey, is this thing on?"

4

Leo was standing at the microphone, "Thanks for coming everyone. Really makes an old man feel good to know who he can count among his friends. And I'm talking about everyone who DIDN'T show up just because there was free food and booze … Kidding. You're all my dearest and closest friends and I appreciate you coming out to help me celebrate my Sixty-Fifth birthday in style. My daughters planned this shindig and before we get this party started, I have a little announcement to make. Ok, it's not a little announcement; it's a big one. But before I tell you what it is, can I have all my girls up here?"

Georgia and Regina wound their way through the tables to stand with him and Christina.

"Georgia, my oldest, tell me how much you love me."

_What kind of trick is this, you old bastard, _she thought_. _ "Leo. Dad. I love you as much as I love life. I love you as much as any child like me has ever loved a father like you. I don't even have the words to tell you how much." _I just don't like you very much,_ she thought to herself. The crowd clapped politely.

"Of course you do. And that's why, tonight, I'm giving you a 25% share in Bella Donna's." The guests clapped a little harder as Georgia stood there taking that statement in. "And now Regina, my second, tell me how much you love me."

Regina grinned wickedly and said, "Dad. Dad-dad-daddio. Georgia and I are cut from the same cloth. I love you the same way she does, only more. In fact, I love you so much, I can't love anyone else. Sorry Ken."

Leo laughed and looked at Ken, "Sorry Ken. But you'll be happy to know Regina won't just be doing the books for Bella Donna's, she now also owns 1/4th of it." Regina and Ken grabbed each other hands and kissed. Leo chuckled, "Well, if I didn't just hear otherwise, I'd say she loved him.

"And I've saved the best for last. Christina, my youngest and heart of hearts, tell me how much you love me."

The crowd turned towards Christina, who had turned a deep shade of pink. "Um, Dad. I don't know what to say. I'm a good daughter; I do everything you ask of me, because that's what I'm supposed to do."

Leo stared at her, "Is that it?"

"I don't know what to say. I can't be flowery about it like Georgia and Regina." She looked at the two of them, "I don't want to negate what they say they feel for you, but why are they married if they love you so much?"

Leo looked shocked. "I hope you don't mean that, little girl."

Christina face went pale. "Yes I do. I can't heave my heart up into my mouth to express what I feel. But I can say that when, if, I marry, my husband will only have half my love."

It was Leo's face that was red now. "I have always thought you loved me more than your sisters ever did; the feeling was mutual. I was about to give you a 50% share in the restaurant, but I can see that you only feel a sense of obligation towards me and not love. It would have been better if you'd never been born than to deceive me like this. Forget your share of Bella Donna's. You can get out of my sight, Christina, and go straight to hell for all I care. Folks, my big announcement tonight was that I'm retiring. I've sold my house and although they don't know it yet, I'm staying with Georgia and Allan for a few months until my new condo in Brewster is finished."

Georgia straightened her back. She was going to have to put a stop to that. Leo continued, "Georgia, Regina, as of Monday, you both own half of the restaurant. Manage it well. Sorry for the interruption folks. Go back to enjoying the free food and booze and don't mind me." He stormed out of the room and left everyone staring around in shock. Christina looked at her two sisters, burst into tears and fled. The young man who had been standing near her followed after her.

Georgia and Regina looked at each other and grinned wickedly. Suddenly, all thoughts about Leo living with her left her mind. It didn't matter that she didn't have a plan for this; this was better than anything she'd thought up. Half-ownership in the restaurant she loved, Leo moving 2 hours away, the new Beer distributor was gorgeous and Allan was nowhere to be found. She was pleased. Very pleased.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four 1

Christina woke up and wasn't sure where she was. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up. Jack's room. She was in Jack's room. _Holy crap, Leo is going to be pissed. _And then she remembered.

The tears welled up again. She'd thought she'd cried herself out last night, but apparently there were plenty of tears left for today. How had everything gone so wrong last night? She tried to replay that last conversation.

Leo had asked her sisters how much they loved him and they had given him bullshit answers. Georgia didn't commit to anything and Regina had just echoed her sentiments. When she had tried to tell him how much she loved him, and it was an amount beyond words, she didn't know what to say. She wasn't good under pressure and she wished he had given her time to prepare something to say.

_Oh god._ She thought, _I love him so much. I've shown him that in a thousand different ways but he doesn't believe me now. _She lay back down and tried to come up with a plan for what to do next. Nothing came to her. _Why can't I be like Georgia and have a plan for everything; a plan for every eventuality._

She sat up and realized she was still dressed. _I wonder where Jack is and if he slept here with me. _She had a vague memory of him stroking her hair and telling her everything would be okay, but it didn't look like he'd spent the night. She decided she'd go look for him. She opened the bedroom door and walked toward the den.

_Just exactly how am I going to be able to fix this, _she wondered. She didn't feel very hopeful that she'd find an answer.

2

Regina stared at the computer and sipped her coffee. She wasn't really seeing the screen. She was lost in thought about Ethan. She'd had quite a number of partners in college, but once she met Ken, that all changed. He was more than enough. His nearly insatiable appetite matched hers and there was no need for anyone else. They'd gotten married shortly after college and had been happy, and sated, for almost 15 years. Jesus. 15 years.

Fifteen years and it had never gotten boring. She wasn't sure why she couldn't get Ethan off her mind. Maybe it was because he was the hottest thing she'd seen since Ken and at Leo's party, she was pretty sure he was flirting with her in front of Ken. Well, actually, she was pretty sure he was flirting with Ken too. That was an interesting thought. She, Ken and Ethan all intertwined…

She shook her head. She needed to get some work done. She pulled up the books for Bella Donna's and really took a look at them for the first time. Doing books for someone else's business was different than doing books for your own company. And now it really was her company. Well, at least half.

And while she thought it was generous of Leo to give it to them, she thought it was a little ridiculous of him to give away the metaphorical keys to his kingdom. And just as ridiculous that he didn't give her 100% of the business. She was the one with the MBA after all. And what the hell did Georgia know about running a business anyway? She was just a cook.

She went back to looking at the balance sheet, but before she found anything really interesting, the phone rang. She reached for it without looking at it, "Yeah?"

"Regina?"

She didn't need to ask who it was because she'd been thinking about him all morning, but she did anyway, "Mm-Hmm. Who's this?"

"It's Ethan. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

_Nothing except a few inappropriate erotic thoughts about you… _"Nope. What can I do for you?" _Or to you?_

"Actually, I was calling because I want to do something for you."

"Really…?"

"Yeah. Donny's given me free range to re-negotiate liquor contracts and I think I can save you some money if we can change your payment terms."

She grinned, "I love it when you talk dirty."

He laughed at that. "I can get down and dirty with the best of them. Your sister asked me to stop by tomorrow to talk about the liquor order and since I know you pay the bills, I just wanted to run it by you first."

She again felt a stirring of jealousy, "You're seeing Georgia tomorrow? Where?"

"At the restaurant. During the party, I didn't get a chance to see your set-up other than the function room, so I want her to show me around and I can make some recommendations."

She wanted to say, _Just be careful what she wants to show you. She's on the outs with her husband and I can tell she's trolling. _She was a little more tactful, "That'll be great. Call me after you're done."

He agreed and after a few more flirtatious pleasantries, hung up. She touched her hand to her cheek and wondered if Ken could get free for a nooner.

3

Georgia was in the kitchen chopping strawberries when she heard the back doorbell ring. After the uproar at the party on Saturday, she had hurried to get dinner served so people would calm down. She'd invited Donny and Ethan to sit at their table, since they found themselves with a few empty seats. The alcohol was flowing freely and Ethan had hit it off with her, Regina and Ken. She might have imagined it, although she was pretty sure she wasn't imagining it, that Ethan had been flirting with her. She'd been wearing her wedding ring, but that didn't seem to matter. So, she had asked Ethan if he could come on Tuesday morning to meet her to go over the liquor order and see what they had for specials. She chose Tuesday morning because she knew she'd be the only one in the restaurant.

She was hurt and confused over the choices Allan had made lately. She wanted to get back at him for it. She wanted to make him jealous. She wanted… Well, she wanted a good fuck. And since Allan wasn't handing those out, she had to find one someplace else. She rinsed her hands, which were stained red, and dried them on her apron as she headed to the back door. A quick look through the peephole showed it was exactly who she was waiting for. She tossed off her apron, ran her hands through her hair and opened the door. Ethan stood there with his hand on the doorjamb. "Hey there. Thanks for coming," she said. _Hopefully, you won't be the only one coming today,_ she thought.

"Not a problem," he said. "You're one of Donny's best customers and we want to take care of you any way we can."

_Oh I hope that means what I think it means, _she thought. "Well, normally, I'd have my bar manager here, but he called out sick today," she lied. "I'm sure Donny has records of what we usually order and then I'll just add to it whatever specials you have to show me today that I find appealing. Why don't you come in and I'll show you around."

She brought him into the bar so he could drop off the box of samples and then showed him around the restaurant, ending up in the kitchen. "This is where I make the magic happen," she said suggestively. "They say that food and sex are intimately linked. I take ingredients and put them together to create a sensual experience for the palate. Whatever people choose to do with that experience after they leave is up to them, but I like to think I get them thinking about dessert. Take these strawberries, for instance." She picked one up and held it up to the light between then. "This is a mere piece of fruit, but pair it with just the right other secret ingredients and it becomes a catalyst. Try this." She took the strawberry and dragged it through the sauce she'd prepared earlier. She lifted it to his lips and fed it to him. Then, keeping eye contact with him, she brought her fingers back to her own mouth and licked the sauce off her index finger.

"That's delicious," he said. "What's in it?"

"I can't tell you, because then it wouldn't be a secret," she grinned, as she dragged another strawberry through the sauce and ate it. "Help yourself."

He moved closer, grabbed a berry and fed it to her, rubbing it on her bottom lip. Then, before she could lick the sauce off her lip, he leaned in and did it for her. _Yes! I wasn't imagining it, _she thought. She twined her hands into his hair and kissed him hard. He put his hands on her hips, lifting her up to sit her on the counter. She wrapped her legs around him and could feel his excitement. She closed her eyes and gave in to her anger, revenge and desire.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five 1

Georgia gritted her teeth and rubbed her forehead. "Leo, I don't understand why you think you can just live here without asking me. I don't have space for you and your stuff and I certainly don't have space for your dogs."

Leo waved his hand, "Yes you do. You and Allan have plenty of space and I'll only be here a few weeks until my condo is finished. You can do that for your old man."

"Leo, you can't keep your dogs here. And can you even have them in a condo? Aren't there association rules about the number of pets? You need to get rid of them. Either bring them to the shelter or find them a home."

He stared at her, "I can't get rid of them. You make a commitment to be a pet owner, you're in it for life."

She took a deep breath and stood her ground. "You can't keep your dogs here. If you're not going to get rid of them, then board them."

"When did you start hating animals?"

"Leo, I don't hate animals, but I'm not having a pack of wild dogs running around, making a mess, chewing and pissing on everything. They're not fixed and they aren't trained. You can't keep them here."

"I need them."

"No, you don't. You don't show them and you don't need the money you make from studding them out."

Leo was quiet for a moment. He took a breath and said, "I'll find a home for most of them. I need to keep Kenwood and Coxcomb. They're the ones I've had the longest and they're trained. I need them; I can't give them up. I can't."

Georgia rubbed her forehead again. "Leo. I… Ok, fine. But, they stay downstairs and if you go out, you take them with you. I'm not taking care of them." _Jesus, when did my parent become my child, _she thought. "And there's one other thing you need to agree to."

"What's that kid?"

"Allan and I are having a hard time getting along right now. Don't interfere. Don't give me advice; don't interrupt us if we're having a discussion; don't comment; just let it alone."

"Yeah, kid. No problem. Listen, I'm going to run some errands. I want to go meet that new kid that Donny's hired and I'll be back later."

Georgia was confused, "Did Donny hire someone else?"

"No, just the one."

"Leo, you've met him already. His name's Ethan. You went over to Donny's last week and then he came with Donny to your party."

Leo chuckled, "Right, right, right. I forgot. Well, I meant I wanted to run to the post office and get a change of address kit anyway. I'll be back."

Georgia watched him walk out. This was ridiculous and a little bothersome. She didn't want Leo staying here, nor did she want to house his dogs. She wondered what Allan would say. He probably wouldn't say anything. When he came home tonight, if he came home, she'd tell him.

She hadn't seen him in a couple days. She'd seen his car in the garage and heard him in his office, so she knew he was at least coming home. For now. But she hadn't tried to talk to him since their fight on Saturday. She wondered what he'd do when he found out about Tuesday morning and the thought of it brought a satisfied grin to her face.

2

Christina looked around her room and wanted to cry. It looked so empty, just like the rest of the house. She couldn't believe Leo could be so cold to her. He hadn't even mentioned to her before the party that he'd be selling the house. _He must have decided with me going off to college that he didn't need the big house anymore. Too bad he doesn't know he's about to be a Grandfather and could use the space still. And with the baby, am I even going to try to take classes? _She gave into the desire to cry.

He wouldn't even talk to her now, when she needed him. And she knew he still needed her. What was he going to do with the dogs? How would he decide what to donate and what to take? This whole situation was such a mess. She only knew the date they needed to leave by because the realtor told her. She still had a few more days, but Jack had found them a short-term apartment that they could afford, so she had everything packed up.

She wished it was as easy to make a decision on what to do about the baby. She really needed to decide because she didn't have much time left before the decision was made for her. But perhaps that was the best choice after all. Yes, she was young. Yes, she wanted to go to college. Yes, she wasn't ready. But with Jack, maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she feared. He said he was willing to make it work if she wanted the baby. She believed him when he said he loved her no matter what. And if he was willing to step up and be a father, then she thought maybe she could do this after all.

She packed the last of her clothes, folded up the box cover and sat down on the mattress for one last cry. She swore it would be the last cry she'd have until she could work everything out with Leo.

3

Regina wondered how Georgia was fairing. And by wondering, she really meant she was taking some wicked glee in the fact that their father was currently burdening himself upon his oldest daughter. It wasn't like Georgia didn't deserve it. _I mean, after all, she'd abandoned us as soon as she could get away to college._

She wasn't bitter. Not really. Okay, yes she was. But really, that boiled down to the fact that Georgia had abandonded her job. It was up to Georgia, as the oldest, to manage Leo. And until now, she hadn't been doing her job. So now Georgia had to like it or lump it.

And Regina loved it that Georgia was having to lump it right now. Yes that was slightly evil of her, but _you know what? Georgia can suck it, _she thought with no small amount of gloating.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six 1

Georgia didn't usually do prep work, but she had needed some mindless work to do while she thought through what she was going to do about Leo and his dogs. Leo had put most of his possessions in storage, but it still felt like he had invaded her house. So far, he had respected her demand that he stay out of her relationship with Allan, but he left a trail of mess behind him everywhere he moved and those damn dogs were shedding everywhere.

She chopped onions and celery while she thought. She felt like a nagging parent with Leo. It seemed like no matter how many times she reminded him to turn out the lights, hang up his towel, rinse out his coffee cup or lock the door, it went in one ear and out the other. And he'd say something like, "Right, right. I forgot." Or, "Ease up on your old man, kid." She was stressed and aggravated. She needed a massage. Or a man. Or both. And then thought, she did have a man. She had a hot, young, strong thing and even the thought of it was enough to turn her on.

Ethan wasn't coming until tomorrow, but she was eagerly anticipating that. She wondered briefly if he "took care" of all Donny's customers like he "took care" of her and then decided it didn't matter. She wasn't looking for a replacement for Allan. It was just sex; but she did wish Ethan was more than just her Tuesday Man. At least he distracted her from all the aggravations. She felt slightly embarrassed over fucking him in the restaurant, but not embarrassed enough to stop. She did go through and disinfect everything in the kitchen after that first time. And since then, they'd confined themselves to her office. Well, except for that time on the bar. _I feel like a teenager, _she thought. The forbidden excitement was intoxicating and she lost herself in that delicious thought.

2

Regina was sitting in her office daydreaming about Ethan when a shadow crossed her doorway. She looked up to see Leo walking past. _He doesn't usually come here in the middle of the day. What's up with that? _ She called out, "Leo?" She waited several seconds and he didn't return. So, she got up from her desk and walked to the doorway. Looking left, she noticed that Leo was standing at the end of the hallway, staring at the picture on the wall. It was an enlarged photograph she had taken of the moors of Scotland. She'd always liked it because at first glance, it seemed bleak and barren. It wasn't until you looked closely that you noticed the life teaming throughout, the beautiful flowers and small birds.

He was mumbling to himself, "Blow winds…"

"Leo?" He didn't respond. She called him louder, "Leo?"

He straightened up, but didn't turn around. He shook his head and resumed staring at the photograph.

"Hi Leo," Regina said.

He finally turned around to look at her. He looked through her for what seemed like forever, then shook his head and registered her presence. "Hi Kid.

"You don't usually come here during the day. What's up?"

"I, uh, just wanted to… uh… do you want to go get a drink with your old man?"

Regina frowned. Normally, it didn't take any prodding for her to go get a drink, but one, this was Leo and two, she had less than no desire to drink with him. She walked back to her desk, "Leo. Not only is it barely past 10:00 am, but I'm also working here. I do own half a restaurant now, you know. Now, what do you really want? And make it quick because I'm busy"

The vacant expression returned to Leo's face. He stood there for a few more seconds, turned around and left.

Regina stared after him and decided not to follow. That was unbelievably strange, but Leo could take a flying leap for all she cared. She'd call Georgia later and tell her about it. She tried to return to the spreadsheet she'd been staring at earlier, but the phone interrupted her yet again, "Yeah?"

"High yield bonds. Amortization. Claw-back contracts… Am I turning you on yet?"

"You're incorrigible, Ethan."

"And that's why you want to sleep with me."

"You wish. I think my husband would have a few choice words on that subject."

"Ouch. Why do you torture me like that?

Regina loved this banter and felt a brief moment of ruefulness over her marital status, but just enough to enjoy the feeling, not enough to do anything about it. "I could ask the same thing. Instead, I'll settle for why you called me?"

"Can't I just enjoy the dulcet tones of your sultry voice?"

"Absolutely. But I'm too busy for phone sex right now. What do you want?"

He sighed, "I'm looking for some advice."

"Stop trying to seduce me. It's not going to work."

He laughed, "That wasn't the advice I was looking for. Donny's asked me to start pressuring some restaurants that are slow pays. What do you usually do when clients do that to you?"

She steered the conversation back to professional topics and they chatted business for a while. Then he returned the conversation back to her family, "Hey, I ran into that kid that was with your sister. What's his name…uh, Jack?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"That young guy at Leo's party with your sister Chris."

"Christina. His name is Jack? She didn't introduce us."

"No shit?"

She gritted her teeth. _Christ. Do I really want to be airing our family's dirty laundry to a complete stranger? _"No shit."

"Well that's just rude. Anyway, he said they'd gotten an apartment for the summer before they head off to Amherst in the fall."

She thought it was ludicrous that a stranger was telling her things about her family, "Huh. I wondered what she was going to do when Leo sold the house."

He was silent for a moment, "Are you busy tonight? I'd like to buy you dinner."

"I'll be busy having sex with my husband tonight. Sorry."

He chuckled, "That's too bad. Dinner would have been great. And the dessert even better. Next time perhaps." And he hung up.

_I wonder if Ken would ever consider a threesome, _she thought with a lascivious grin.

3

Christina poured herself a glass of milk and stood looking out the kitchen window. This wasn't a bad place. It was a small two-bedroom on the top floor of a house. The landlords were a nice couple whose kids were grown and out on their own. They had converted the top floor into a little apartment when they didn't need all the space anymore. The kitchen window looked out over a park, so the view was nice. And it was quiet here.

She wondered how long Jack would be. He was gone when she woke up, but he'd left her a note: _C – Running over to my parents. Be back soon. Love, J_

She watched the world go by and was almost finished with her milk when she saw Jack's car pull into the driveway. She thought maybe he might need some help carrying stuff, so she walked downstairs to meet him. He pulled a box out of the backseat, turned around and saw her. He grinned broadly. "Hi! My mom gave us some dishes and stuff. Oh hey, you'll never guess who I ran into at Cumby's"

"I give up. Who?"

"That guy that came to your dad's party with Donny."

Christina frowned, "Ethan?"

"Yeah, that's him. He wanted to know how things were going. I told him we were doing fine; that we'd gotten a little apartment for the rest of the summer."

"Huh. Did he say anything else?"

She held open the door for Jack and they walked up the stairs, "He said he was sorry about what happened with Leo and that if we needed anything, to give him a call. His number is in my front pocket."

She didn't like that. She didn't like that one bit.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven 1

Regina meant to call her sister to tell her about Leo, but forgot. Ken's magic fingers had erased the thought right out of her mind. _I suppose I ought to tell her. It was just too weird to overlook. Besides, I might be able to rub it in just a little. _On her drive home from work, she picked up her cell and dialed Georgia.

She told Georgia about the exchange with Leo and Georgia mentioned that Leo had seemed forgetful lately. _Oh man, this could be good,_ she thought. "We could really fuck with him, you know?" _I wonder if I could get him to sign over the whole restaurant to me, _she wondered.

Then, when she told Georgia about what Ethan has said concerning Christina, Georgia had gotten bitchy. It almost seemed like Georgia was jealous that she'd had a conversation with Ethan. _That's curious, _she thought. _Why would she be jealous over a conversation? _

When she asked about Allan, Georgia said Allan had been sleeping in the guest room. _No surprise there. She's completely controlling and he's probably standing his ground. _When Georgia said she wanted Allan to move out, Regina thought, _I wonder if she's sleeping with Ethan. That could be why she's bitchy about him. Hmmm. I'm going to have to keep an eye on that situation. _She gave Georgia some pleasant advice and said her goodbyes. _Wow, Georgia is in for a rude awakening if she's sleeping with Ethan and is going to divorce Allan over it. I wonder if she realizes he's been hitting on me too. He probably uses his good looks to get better sales. And can I fault him for that? No, not really. I'd be doing the same thing if I were him. _Knowing that he was trying to use her sister raised him a few notches in her opinion. _Man, I can't wait to see how that plays out with Georgia._

2

Georgia pulled into the driveway, noticed neither Allan nor Leo's car was there and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she could take a bath in some peace and quiet. Quiet was rare, despite the fact that Allan hadn't spoken to her in days, and peace was non-existent. Leo had taken to wandering restlessly, pacing back and forth between rooms. And the dogs followed him, their nails clacking on the tiles and their collars jingling incessantly. It was maddening. She had to get rid of Leo and his damn dogs.

She had barely walked through the door when the phone rang. She put her purse down on the foyer table and rummaged through it for her phone, "Hello?"

"It's me, G. Got a minute?"

"I have the house to myself and was going to take a bath. What's up?"

Regina gave a little chuckle. "Of all the things to do by yourself, you want to take a bath? You must be stressed. Hard day at the office, Dear?"

"Not really, it was actually a pretty satisfying morning," Georgia replied.

"Oh really. Dish it sistah."

Georgia was glad that Regina couldn't see the blush that rose to her cheeks, "You're getting off topic and I'm losing soak time. What did you call for?"

She sighed. "Not that I want to lay this on you, but Leo wandered into my office yesterday. And I say 'wandered' because I'm not really sure he knew where he was. When I said, "Hi Leo," he shook his head like he was clearing out some cobwebs and asked me if I wanted to get a drink… It was 10:30 in the morning. After I reminded him that not only was it before noon, but I was also working, he walked away without saying anything else. It was beyond strange."

"I've noticed lately that he forgets things. I thought he was just trying to drive me crazy by ignoring everything I've asked him to do, but I think he genuinely doesn't remember."

"Huh. If that's true, we could really fuck with him, you know." Georgia could hear the gleeful wickedness in Regina's voice. "We could take the dogs to the pound and deny that he ever owned dogs to begin with. Or we could tell him Christina wants to meet him for dinner and then I could have one of my interns meet him and pretend she doesn't understand why Leo doesn't recognize her. Oh man, this could be good." She laughed. "Hey speaking of Christina… have you heard from her?"

"No. Have you?"

"No. I found out who that guy was though."

_Regina is such a gossipy bitch, _Georgia thought, "Oh do tell."

"Apparently, her new boyfriend. His name is Jack something. Something French. I was talking to Ethan, who said that's how she introduced him at Leo's party. How come our new Beer Distributor knew that and we didn't?"

Georgia had a brief flare of jealousy, "Why were you talking to Ethan?"

"Chill G. I'm not trying to interfere with your weekly liquor order or anything. He stopped by my office to ask if he could get some advice on another restaurant that's starting to pay their bills a little slow. He wanted to tap my brain for some strategies."

_I bet that's not all he wanted to tap, _she thought viciously.

"And damn, if he's not easy on the eyes. If Ken ever left me, I'd do him."

"He's a little young for you, don't you think?" Georgia knew she was being completely hypocritical, but she couldn't stand the thought of Ethan with Regina. She knew she had no claim on him, but there was a line and there was no way she was going to let him cross that line with her sister.

"Ouch. Bitchy much?"

Georgia grimaced and spoke through her teeth, "Yeah, Leo drives me to it."

"Sounds like you need to get laid. And speaking of getting laid, how're things going with you and Allan?"

"Truthfully, not great. He's still sleeping in the guest room and he hasn't spoken a word to me since the party."

"Seriously? That's over a month. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, Gina. I need a break from them. I need them both to move out, I think. Or maybe 'I' should just move out."

Regina whistled, "Never leave the house, girl. You'll lose all your leverage. Why don't you take that bath that I interrupted you from and take it easy. I'll talk to you later."

Georgia hung up, poured herself a glass of wine and went upstairs to draw a bath. She had just eased into the water when she heard her house phone ring. _That's what I have an answering machine for, _she thought as she ignored the ring and let the hot water ease away some stress.

3

Christina picked up the phone to call Georgia, dialed her number and then hung up before it could connect. She paced back and forth. Then, she picked up the phone again to dial Regina and changed her mind about that too. She desperately wanted to connect with someone from her family. Leo wouldn't talk to her and she was afraid to talk to her sisters. Georgia would deride her for how she was living her life and Regina was just an out and out bitch about everything.

She sunk down into the kitchen chair and cried a little. She'd been hearing some gossip about Leo that was worrisome and wanted to know how he was. If she could talk to Georgia, maybe she could put her mind to ease, but she wasn't sure how to do it.

She dialed Georgia's house phone and let it ring this time. After four rings, the answering machine picked up. She didn't leave a message.

4

Ethan ran home after meeting Georgia at the restaurant so he could take a shower before heading back out on his route. This was the life. He was making a shitload of money, plus getting laid. If he could just get the other two sisters on board, he'd be living the high life. Donny trusted the business to him now and he was pretty sure he'd be able to talk Donny into cutting him in as part owner. Next up was adding one of the most successful restaurants in the city to his portfolio and given enough time with those three sisters, one of them would crack and then there'd be nothing he wouldn't be able to do.

He wasn't going to worry too much about the youngest sister, since she'd been disinherited. But it never hurt to let her think he was on her side. That way, if the situation ever changed, he'd have an ace in the hole.

The middle sister was going to crack; it was only a matter of time. She was sexy as hell and a dirty, dirty girl. He could tell she loved sex as much as he did. But that damn husband seemed to be enough for her. He wondered briefly if he should try to work his way into her bed through her husband and dismissed the thought just as quickly. He was open to doing whatever needed to be done to get him where he wanted to be, but the little reconnaissance he'd done at Leo's party had indicated that wasn't the right course of action where Ken was concerned.

The oldest sister had been no problem. Early 40's, unhappily married; she was ripe for the picking. Now that she was hooked, all he had to do was make the slightest liquor choice suggestion and she thought it was the best thing for each new menu. He shook his head; he couldn't believe how easy it had been to own her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"I can't take it anymore, Regina. Please help me here or I swear I'm either going to kill him or myself. Both is actually a distinct possibility right now."

"Calm down Georgia. What did he do this time?"

Georgia replayed the whole incident in her head. It was like living with a teenager; a teenager with dangerously few working brain cells and no tact filter. The fact that it was Tuesday and she should have been blissfully relaxed made it all the more aggravating. 6 weeks ago, she'd been confident that Leo's condo would be in move-in condition in 4 weeks. She could tolerate him and 2 dogs for a month. Not an easy month, but she didn't have to babysit or entertain him, so she thought it would be tolerable. She had thought it through well, and of course, it didn't go as planned. Six weeks later and the contractors still were giving her a two week estimate. They said two weeks every time she asked. She wondered where Leo had found them and made a note to make sure everyone she knew never hired them.

Living with Leo was bad. He ignored her requests; he forgot things; he repeated stories he'd told only the day before. Sometimes he'd feed the dogs and 20 minutes later, put out another bowl like he'd hadn't just fed them. Lately, she'd had to remind him to take a shower.

Living with Leo was bad and living with his dogs was even worse. They shed, as all dogs do, but that damn dog hair got everywhere. It was in her closet, even though the dogs didn't come upstairs. At least, she was fairly positive the dogs didn't come upstairs. The cleaning company came in once a week and vacuumed very well. In the days between cleanings, Georgia dragged the vacuum around another three or four times, but it was just everywhere. And when it was rainy out, those dogs stunk. Wet dog smell was awful. She'd resorted to lighting scented candles the minute she walked through the door. While it did help, it was only temporary. Lately, the house smelled like Eau du Wet Dog In Lilacs.

But the last straw, the one that had Georgia begging her sister to rescue her, was the absolute worst. Leo had brought home a new puppy without consulting her. She'd locked Bella Donna's up after Ethan left. _God he was so hot. The things he could do with his hands and his…_ She shook her head to clear that thought. She'd had everything ready for the prep crew and didn't need to be back to the restaurant until four, so she'd locked up and went home. She'd intended on changing and going to a yoga class before heading back in. As she'd pulled into the driveway, she saw Leo run past the front windows. She hit the garage door opener and pulled in. As soon as she opened her car door, she could hear the ruckus.

She yelled out to Leo as she raced in the kitchen door. The kitchen was a wreck. The coffee pot was shattered and the coffee had spilled across the floor. A chair was up-ended. The dogs were barking and she could hear Leo yelling, "Come here, you little bastard." She ran to the living room, which was equally a wreck. The floor lamp had toppled over and the throw pillows were on the floor; one of them ripped open with the stuffing spilling out. The newspapers and magazines that were usually neatly arranged on the coffee table or in the stand next to the couch were strewn everywhere. And there seemed to be a cloud of dog hair hovering in the air.

She'd run through the living room to Allan's office and stopped short. Leo and his two dogs had cornered something on the other side of the desk. Papers from the desk were everywhere. The dogs were growling and Georgia thought whatever was cornered might be a raccoon or other wild animal. "Leo, what's wrong? What's in the corner?"

He had taken his focus off whatever it was and had turned to face her. "It's ok kid, it's just my new puppy. Kenwood and Coxcomb don't really like her yet, but just wait until she's in heat. They'll be singing a new tune. She's a little scared; sorry for the mess. I'll clean it up as soon as I can get her back in her crate."

Georgia screamed, "LEO, YOU… YOU… GAAAH!" She took a deep breath and said through clenched teeth, "One of the conditions of you living here was that you could have two dogs. Two. Not three. Not two plus a puppy. Two. TWO. Catch it and take it back to wherever you got it from or so help me…"

"Relax kid, I got it covered. Huh. What have you been up to? You smell like you've been at the gym."

She gave him an ultimatum, "Leo, I'm not kidding. I'm going upstairs to take a shower and change my clothes. When I'm done, you and those dogs better be taking that puppy back to the breeder or there will be hell to pay." Then she'd turned her back on the problem and went upstairs.

She'd stayed in the shower until the water ran cold, then toweled off and peeked downstairs to make sure Leo was gone. After she'd satisfied herself that he was gone, she'd picked up the phone to call Regina.

"Seriously, Gina. I need a break." She hoped her voice didn't betray the lie she was about to tell, "The builder says it will only be two weeks. Can he please stay with you? Please?"

"Jesus G. I know you've had him for like 6 weeks now and you get the Martyr Medal for that one, but I doubt Ken will go for that."

"I'm begging you Gina."

"Well, maybe if I tell him Leo is just coming for a quick visit before he moves down to the Cape, he'll be ok with that."

Georgia breathed out a sigh of relief, "Thanks Gina. I'll owe you one. Big time. Why don't you and Ken come down to the restaurant tonight and have dinner. It's on me. I'll make you some primavera and I've got the perfect wine to go with it. Ethan recommended a new vintage that everyone seems to like. It's been pretty popular."

"Yeah, ok. We'll get Ken drunk and spring it on him. That's the best way to get him to do something I know he'd never agree to."

"Alright. I need to get going back to Bella Donna's if I'm going to make you dinner from scratch. See you about 6?"

"Yeah, no. We're not old enough for the early-bird special. How about 7:30?"

Georgia agreed and said her goodbyes. She didn't really need all that prep time, but she didn't want to be here when Leo got back. She'd tell him he had to move to Regina's when she was a little calmer and could make him think it was his idea.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 1

Georgia was dressed and walking out to the garage when the opposite door opened and Allan drove in. She waited for him to get out, staring at him with venom. It wasn't him she was angry with, but he'd do. "Nice of you to come home. The house is a wreck right now thanks to Leo and I'm not dealing with it right now."

"Georgia. I… Do you have a minute? I'd like to talk to you."

"Do I have a minute? Christ, why don't you jump me like you used to do when you'd come home from the office, wound up and needing a stress release? Are you impotent now? Are you on some kind of meds that are keeping you from getting it up?"

"I can't believe how cruel you can be sometimes. No, I guess I can believe it. I married you because of it. I just… I don't… I've grown past it and I don't need it any more. Can we please go inside so I can talk to you?"

"No."

He reeled, "No?"

"Was I not clear?"

"Georgia, I… Okay fine. Have it your way. I just came home to pack some things. I'm leaving. I've come to a point in my life where I need to feed my soul. And you're sucking my soul dry. I can't take it anymore."

"I'm sucking you dry? I haven't sucked you in three months. That's half the problem. Maybe if you remembered how to fuck, your soul would get plenty fed."

He shook his head. "See? That's what I'm talking about. I need understanding. I need compassion. I need you to lay off."

"Fuck you, Allan."

"Georgia…"

"No, Allan. You've become someone I don't even know anymore. You say you need compassion and understanding, but what about me? What about ME? You've done all this changing and you're leaving me behind. You say I don't understand, but why can't you understand that I'm hurting over the loss of you just as much as you're hurting over your change. I need you to be the man I married and you're not. You're this wimpy, passive shell of a person and I DON'T GET IT. How do you make such a radical change and leave behind someone you love? Or did you really love me? Right about now, I'm betting on not; because if you did, you wouldn't be so selfish. And you are being selfish. Do you even know what I'm dealing with? I mean, besides losing my husband? Nobody has heard from Christina since Leo's party; I'm trying to adjust to being 50% owner of Bella Donna's and not just head chef; and our house is a wreck because Leo is losing his mind. I can't handle this alone. So if you can't suck it up and be the man I need you to be, then just get out. "

Allan blinked and said stiffly, "Leo's losing his mind?"

"You know what Allan? I think I've changed my mind. I think you're not the man I need. I'm having dinner with Regina and Ken tonight. Pack your things and be gone by the time I get back. If Leo comes home while you're packing, tell him that if I find any more than 2 dogs when I get home, he's out on his ass too." Georgia opened her car door and got in. She pulled out of the garage without another glance at Allan.

2

Regina and Ken parked the car and went into Bella Donna's. They told the hostess to let Georgia know they'd arrived and would be at the bar. As they were walking over there, Regina leaned into Ken and whispered, "How's it feel to know you're taking the owner home tonight?"

"Hot," he replied and put his hand on her ass. "Want to meet me in your bathroom for a quickie?"

She grinned and swatted at his hand. She ordered their usual SoCo Manhattan and Dirty Vodka Martini and they sat down to wait for Georgia. At first, she would never have considered having Leo stay with them, no matter what length of time; but she'd seen her opportunity and had leaped at it. Unlike in Georgia's plan, she'd actually told Ken what they were going to do and instructed him to act like he had no clue. If Leo was in the starting stages of dementia or Alzheimer's or whatever, maybe she could get him to revise the ownership documents to give the whole kit and caboodle to her. She didn't think it was too late for that. And besides, with Georgia about to go through a divorce, it would be better for Georgia not to have this asset in her portfolio. She sure as hell didn't want Georgia to lose it in the divorce. _And she probably would, the stupid cow_, Regina thought, _especially if she had even been thinking she was going to leave the house._

Georgia interrupted her musing to let them know dinner was almost ready. _Jesus, I'm glad no one can hear my inner dialogue, _Regina smirked. They picked up their drinks and moved to a table in the corner. It was set well, but Regina thought they could use a different color scheme and better wine glasses. _That's the first thing I'll do._

Georgia ordered them a bottle of their new Red Zin: the 2002 Fanucci Old Vine. Personally, Regina couldn't care less about wine, but she was indulging Georgia so everything would go smoothly tonight. At least the food was good. She had to hand it to Georgia, even if she did nothing else well, she at least could cook. _I'll let her stay as head chef, as long as she doesn't make waves, _Regina decided.

By the time the bottle was empty, the 3rd martini was drunk and mere crumbs were left on the plate, Ken had played his part marvelously by suggesting Leo spend a little time with them before heading to the Cape. Regina was so proud of him. She thought Georgia looked relieved and took no small amount of pleasure gloating over how well she'd been able to manipulate everything.

3

Christina sat in her car outside Georgia's house and watched Leo through the window. She couldn't believe she'd been reduced to stalking him just to make sure he was okay. He wandered past the front window and out of her view. _He looks so sad, _she thought. She waited a few more minutes and when he didn't reappear, she started the car and left.

4

Ethan had succeeded in getting Georgia to order more expensive wines. Donny had a huge profit margin on wines and he was going to spend that commission check with great pleasure. Next up was the top shelf liquors. Perhaps a couple of rarer Bourbons? She had mentioned that she'd bought Leo some A. H. Hirsch, so she knew about quality lines. He was certain he could convince her to invest in some and then run some dinner specials with it in conjunction with some bourbon chicken recipe. He didn't know very much about cooking, but someone had brought bourbon chicken to the 4th of July party he went to and he'd gone back for seconds. He'd bring up the subject next Tuesday.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten 1

All of Leo's belonging fit into two cars and it only took the one trip to remove him from her house and deposit him at Regina's. How the hell did the mess he created every day fit so compactly into two vehicles? _Maybe I shouldn't think so much about it, _she thought, _and just be grateful that he's gone._

Dinner with her sister went exactly as she had planned. She and Regina had plied Ken with several dirty vodka martinis and danced around the subject all night. When they finally sprung it on Ken, they made it seem like he'd already know and had just drunk so much he'd forgotten. _We can be such devious bitches sometimes, _Georgia thought with a mixture of wry regret and heady glee.

By the time Georgia had returned home from dinner, Leo had returned the puppy and cleaned the house. She hadn't had time to deal with him, so she ignored him for the next three days and had let Regina know to expect him on Saturday.

Now, as she, Ken and Regina were pulling the last of Leo's stuff out of her car, she breathed a sigh of relief. She watched Leo walk around with those two dogs following behind and was glad she could go home and leave him here. It was a shame that Regina had to deal with him now, but she was glad it wasn't her responsibility anymore. She said her goodbyes and headed home.

The house was quiet. Leo and the damn dogs were gone. Allan was gone. She had the weekend off and she wouldn't see Ethan again for three more days. What was she going to do with herself now? She started giggling at that, then tears came to her eyes and she giggled at that too. _Maybe Leo's not the only one losing his mind, _she thought. _Maybe I should go see Michael and work out some of my issues. _But no, Ethan would help her work out some issues and now they didn't have to just make love in her office; she could have him here. That was a freeing thought. As exhilarating as the thought was that they might get caught while they were in her office, it was more exciting to think that now she could take her time with him. _Mmmmm time. That's just what the doctor ordered. _She picked up the phone and dialed his cell.

2

"Leo, I don't give a shit what Georgia told you. You're boarding those dogs or you're going to a hotel."

"Aw kid. Don't do that to your old man."

Regina gave him a cold grin, "Old man, it's already done. Oakwood is expecting the dogs by 3:00 today. Either you bring them or I will. And if I do, I might be tempted to take the route that goes directly by the pound."

He gaped at her. "Would you really be that heartless? At least your sister knows how important Kenwood and Coxcomb are to me."

"My sister is spineless. She didn't want those dogs any more than I do, but I'm the only one that will stand up to you. If you leave now, you have enough time to take them to the park for a run and then get them to the kennel."

"I'm going back to your sister's."

"Go ahead, but you'll be wasting your time. She's going to send you right back here. Sorry Leo, but you're stuck here until your condo is finished. Now put those goddamn mutts in the car and get going."

He turned without another word and whistled for the dogs.

Regina went to the kitchen, poured two drinks and walked into the backyard where Ken was relaxing on the patio. "The deed is done." She handed his drink to him.

"He's headed to the kennel?"

"Oh yeah." They clinked their glasses together. She sat and leaned against him. "This is going to be good. We've only got to put up with him for two weeks and then we're done. I'll let him calm down a little before I start working on getting him to reorganize his ownership documents."

"Amen to that." Ken raised his glass and downed the drink. "I love how manipulative you can be."

"How about I do a little manipulation upstairs while the old man is out?"

Ken leaned in to kiss her, "You don't have to ask me twice."

3

Georgia hit play on her answering machine and heard, "Georgia? It's Christina. I…uh, I'd really like to talk to you about Leo. I know he's gone to stay with Regina, so I was hoping you'd let me come over so we could talk. Please, please…uh, please call me when you get this message. I'd really like to talk to family. I miss you…okay…uh, bye. Call me." Georgia shook her head and hit the delete button.

4

Ethan pulled out of Georgia's driveway and flipped open his cellphone,

"Yeah?"

"Capitalized interest, liquidity ratio, promissory note… How about now?"

"What do you want Ethan?

"Just you, Regina; just you."

"Uh huh. I love your frankness. Now why don't you stop trying to seduce me aurally and tell me why you're calling me."

Ethan chuckled and said, "I love the double entrendre."

Regina was silent. When she didn't respond, he continued, "I've been spending some time with your sister lately. She's got a lot of ideas that I thought you should hear about."

"You've been..." He could hear her breathing loudly. "Thank you Ethan. I'd like to have a conversation with you about that, but not right now. When are you free?"

_Hooked! _He hesitated just a little, "Tonight?"

"That's not going to work for me. In fact I'm busy every night this week. How about Saturday at 7pm. Meet me at the restaurant?"

_Hmm. Saturday. I wonder where her husband will be? _"Saturday works for me. I'll see you then," he said.

"Right," she responded and he waited until he heard her slam the phone down before he snapped his cell closed. _It was just a matter of time like he thought. And now that time was getting shorter._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven 1

Roasts were in the oven, vegetables sautéed, salads prepped, cook staff was in the kitchen; everything was good to go, so Georgia was in her office working on the schedule for next week. She didn't have to schedule Tuesdays late anymore, so she could go back to a regular schedule. That felt good. Routine, although boring, provided a measure of comfort to her currently unstable world.

It has been a busy week since she dropped Leo off unceremoniously at Regina's and drove away. Ethan had been willing to come out to the house, but not as often as she'd hoped; only once this week, but maybe tomorrow she hoped. A knock on the doorframe interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and was surprised at who it was. "Regina. You don't usually come down here on a Saturday night. Everything okay?"

"Sure Sis. I just wanted to see how profits were coming along. Is it always this busy?"

"Yeah. This is pretty typical"

Regina looked back through the archway at the dining room and back at her. She inhaled sharply through her nose, paused and said, "Leo says I should spend more time here…I do own 50% , after all."

Georgia cocked her head to the side thinking, _what is this all about? Regina isn't interested in the day to day workings of the restaurant. She's just interested in the money. _"There's not really a whole lot for you to do, unless you want to learn how to wait tables. Why don't you go sit at the bar and I'll come join you in a few minutes."

"Right. Sounds good. I'll be waiting for you." Regina turned around and walked out.

_That was strange. _Georgia finished off the schedule, saved it and turned the computer off. She headed out towards the bar and pulled up short. Ethan was sitting at the bar with Regina, who had a shot of Cabo in front of her. She pasted on a smile she didn't feel, "Well hey there, you two. What a coincidence that you run into each other here. Regina, are you drinking our profits away?"

Regina gave a quick titter and said, "If I didn't know you were charging four times the cost of a shot, I'd say yes. Ethan, how did you talk Georgia into splurging for some top shelf tequila?"

Ethan stared right into Georgia's eyes, "I didn't have to talk her into one thing. She had ideas of her own that I was happy to indulge."

Georgia gave a nervous laugh, "The bartenders have been telling me that the patrons are asking for it." She stared back at Ethan, "And we want to give the customers what they want, right?"

Regina stared at both of them, "Right. Give the customers what they want. And what I want right now is for you two to have a shot with me." She motioned for the bartender, "Three shots of Cabo." He looked at Georgia for permission; she nodded.

They picked up the shot glasses. Ethan raised his and said, "In the words of Jimmy Angelov, 'I'm feeling very into sisters right now.'" Then tipped his head back and downed the shot.

Regina and Georgia followed suit. Georgia recovered her brain and said, "Ethan, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to pick one or the both of us up. Not only are Regina and I both married, but I'm sure Donny doesn't mean you to 'service us personally' when he says to take care of his best customers." She hoped that would be enough to make Regina think nothing was going on between them. "I don't mean to be rude, but I need to check on what's going on in the kitchen. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She walked back through the archway and paused a moment to still her heart. It was pounding from anxiety. She wasn't ready for anyone to know she was carrying on with someone other than her husband, even if he was the one that moved out. And she wasn't sure that if people did find out, that she wanted them to know it was with her Beer Distributor. That sounded shallow, she knew, but that was how she felt. He was an unbelievably good lay, but she was better than him.

She took a quick peek back towards the bar to make sure they weren't watching her and was astonished at what she saw. Ethan was leaning in towards Regina's neck, whispering something to her with his hand on her leg and she was eating it up. Georgia seethed with jealousy. _There's no way I'm seeing what I'm seeing. He may 'service' other clients, but she's happily married._

She couldn't deal with this right now. She'd think it over and come up with a plan tomorrow.

2

Regina walked in the front and waved the hostess away, "I'm just popping in to see my sister." The hostess nodded and waved and turned to the patrons she was about to seat.

She peered around the edge of the doorway to Georgia's office and watched her for a moment before knocking on the frame. She was pleased and irritated to see a flash of what looked like guilt trip across Georgia's face.

"Regina. You don't usually come down here on a Saturday night. Everything okay?"

She looked around the office and thought, _how tacky are these decorations? I wonder if she brought them in herself or if the restaurant bought them for her. _"Sure Sis. I just wanted to see how profits were coming along. Is it always this busy?"

Georgia nodded her head. "Yeah. This is pretty typical."

Regina looked back through the archway and spotted Ethan at the bar. She felt a stirring of longing, but pulled her eyes away and looked back at Georgia. She inhaled sharply through her nose, _I smell sex. She's been fucking someone in here. Three guesses as to who it's been and the first two don't count. _"Leo says I should spend more time here…I do own 50%, after all" _And soon I'll own the other 50% if there's anything I can do about that._

Georgia tilted her head to the side and Regina detected a hint of bitchy sarcasm, "There's not really a whole lot for you to do, unless you want to learn how to wait tables. Why don't you go sit at the bar and I'll come join you in a few minutes?"

_You're not going to like what you find there, Sister'o'mine. _"Right. Sounds good. I'll be waiting for you." Regina turned around, saw Ethan was watching her and headed towards the bar.

"Don't you look good enough to eat," he said to her.

_Dammit, why didn't I make Ken change his plans and join me? Now I'm going to have to fend off tall, dark and horny by myself. _She grinned in spite of herself and sat down. Ethan already had a beer, so she waved the bartender back over. While she was waiting, she noticed a full bottle of Cabo on the shelf. _Hmmm. Talk, dark and horny has been talking her into all sorts of things, hasn't he? _ She had been about to order a SoCo Manhattan, but she asked for a shot of Cabo instead. "No training wheels," she'd instructed.

"Well hey there you two," she heard her sister say and turned to face her. Georgia continued, "What a coincidence that you run into each other here. Regina, are you drinking our profits away?"

Regina gave a false little laugh, like she couldn't tell what was really going on here and said, "If I didn't know you were charging four times the cost of a shot, I'd say yes." She turned her gaze to Ethan, "Ethan, how did you talk Georgia into splurging for some top shelf tequila?" _And doing it without consulting me? We'll have words about that later, _she thought bitterly.

Ethan stared right into Georgia's eyes and said, "I didn't have to talk her into one thing. She had ideas of her own that I was happy to indulge."

_Oh I bet, _Regina thought, _and I'll also bet they had little to do with alcohol. _Regina noticed that Georgia wouldn't look at her and little beads of sweat were scattered across her upper lip. _Could she be any more obvious? Stupid ho._

"The bartenders have been telling me that the patrons are asking for it and we want to give the customers what they want, right?"

_I wonder if she'll sing if I ply her with enough alcohol? _"Right. Give the customers what they want," Regina replied. "And what I want right now is for you two to have a shot with me" She waved three fingers at the Bartender and pointed to her shot. He gave a quick glance towards Georgia, who nodded and then lined them up. _Are you kidding me? He knows who I am; why is he looking to her for permission. He either changes that attitude or he's the first one to go when I take over, _she fumed.

3

_Holy fuck, how hot is this? _"In the words of Jimmy Angelov, 'I'm feeling very into sisters right now.'" Ethan downed his shot and looked at the both of them.

Georgia turned pale and said something icy to him, he wasn't listening. He couldn't take his eyes of Regina. He liked what he saw in her eyes. He registered that Georgia said, "I'll be back," and motioned the bartender for 2 more shots and another beer.

Regina leaned toward him and in a low voice said, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

"You think, huh?"

"Oh come on. Her office smells like a locker room and you were insinuating it over the shots. What are you up to?"

He put his hand on her leg and whispered into her ear, "Right now, about nine inches. I'm a stand-up kind of guy. What can I say?" He felt her shiver from his breath on her ear.

"So's a comic," she laughed. "Unfortunately, I doubt Ken will find it funny you're hitting on me."

"Ouch," he feigned. "You really know how to hurt a guy" _Yep, she's next and it'll be soon._

4

Christina dialed Georgia, then Regina, then Leo; all three went to voicemail and she left no messages. It had been nearly 2 months since she'd talked to her family and it made her incredibly sad.

Jack had been great. _So had his parents when you get down to it_, she thought. When they'd found out about the pregnancy, they hadn't freaked out. They had been kind of excited actually. Well, they expressed a lot of concern that they were so young, but this would be their first grandchild and Mrs. LeFevre,_ I have to remember to call her Janet, _had given her a hug. And then when she'd told them about what had happened with Leo, they'd been outraged. "Don't you worry about anything, honey. You're going to be just fine."

They wanted Jack and Christina to move in with them, but Jack insisted that they find a small place. _It would have been nice to have a family for a little while, but I guess I'll have my own soon enough. _They had decided to forego UMass in the fall and would go to the Community college in the city instead. It was a little less expensive and with Jack's parents helping them out with rent, they thought they could live on the money from their jobs.

Christina was getting out of her uniform and about to step into the shower when she heard the door open. She heard Jack call her name. "I'm in the bedroom," she answered. He came in and gave her a kiss hello.

He looked pale, but exited, "Honey, I've been thinking about you and me and the baby and I think…" He reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a small box as he got down on one knee. "Christina, I love you. I love that we're going to be a family soon and I think we should be a real family. Would you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife?"

_He is too good to be true, _she thought. "I love you too Jack, with my whole self. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Without a doubt."

"Then, yes. It would be amazing to be your wife and the mother of our child."

"Whew, that's great, because I already made the appointments for our blood tests. My parents said they'd hire a JP and we could to it at their house."

She was amazed, "How long will it take? I think we should do it right away before school starts. I don't want to be so busy that we keep putting it off."

He grinned broadly, "We could be married by this time next week, I think."

"Then let's do it. You're so good to me Jack; I love you so much."

"I love you too, honey," he replied.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve 1

Georgia, Regina and Ken stood on the porch, champagne glasses in hand, watching the moving truck drive away with Leo in the lead. There was an uneasy silence among them. Georgia hadn't talked to Regina all week, although she did accept her voicemail invitation for a toast at Leo's departure. His condo was finally ready and he was off to the Cape. _Good riddance, you old bastard, _she thought. She turned to look at Regina and Ken, "Here's to absence making the heart grow fonder." They laughed and raised their glasses. "Wouldn't it be something if his absence was long enough for us to actually become fond of him."

They drained their glasses and walked into the house. Regina took Georgia's glass and turned back to take Ken's, "Ken? What's the matter? KEN?"

Georgia turned around as the glasses shattered on the tile. Ken's face was ashen and he was clutching his bicep. Regina had her arm around him and was shaking him and shrieking. "I'll call 911," she said as she raced to the phone. She explained what was happening to the dispatcher as she ran back to the foyer. Ken was on the floor. She hung up and got to the floor beside Regina, who was rocking back and forth, wailing Ken's name like it was a mantra.

She pushed Regina out of the way and put her ear to Ken's mouth to listen for a breath. Nothing. She loosened his collar and started doing chest compressions until the ambulance got there. The EMTs raced in and took over.

Regina went in the ambulance with Ken and she followed in the car. Regina sat numbly in a waiting room chair listening to some bad daytime soap opera plot while Georgia paced. She couldn't sit still; there was too much to do. She knew Ken had died on the foyer floor, but she wanted the doctor to tell Regina that. Now there'd be a funeral to plan. Regina needed to call her lawyer and Ken's boss. He didn't have any family that she knew of, but Regina would know better. Maybe she'd better make a list of things that Regina needed to do.

The doctor came out and called for Regina. Georgia let her go over to the doctor herself, but kept an eye on them. Regina turned back to Georgia with a wild look in her eye and Georgia ran over to her. "I'm very sorry for your loss," the doctor said. "If you'll have a seat, the nurse will be over to explain what happens next." As he turned and walked away, Georgia led her sister back to her seat and sat there with her arm around her while they waited.

Georgia felt like the next 48 hours were like trying to walk through a blizzard. The funeral director walked them through everything that needed to be done. She stood in line with Regina and shook hands with nameless faces; sat in the front row of the church with her; stood beside her at the graveside. Neither Leo nor Christina showed up. Of course, she hadn't called either of them, so she wasn't surprised.

She took Regina home, helped her into her pajamas and put her to bed. It was strange seeing Regina so passive. She went down to the kitchen, made a cup of tea and brought it back to Regina.

Regina sat up and took the tea. "G… Ken was… Ken was only 42. Who has a heart attack and dies at 42?"

"I don't know, Regina. Did you know anything about his family? Did heart disease run in his family?"

"I don't know either. I never met his parents; they'd died before I met him." She moaned, "Oh god. What am I going to do without Ken? I am so alone."

"Shhh, Regina. You're strong and you're not alone. You're going to be fine. I know you don't want to hear this right now, but you're young and sexy and smart. There's no reason why, when you're ready, you can't move on and meet someone."

"I don't want to hear that. I'm not ready for that yet. Thanks for your help Georgia, but would you please leave? I just want to be by myself right now."

"Yeah. Sure Gina, no problem. I'll let myself out and lock the door behind me when I leave. I'll call you tomorrow."

Georgia went downstairs and spent a few minute cleaning up the kitchen. She looked around to make sure everything was in its place and left. As she was backing out of the driveway, she pulled her phone out. She needed to unwind after the last two days and Ethan was the perfect person to help her with that.

2

Regina stood on the porch with one arm entwined around Ken and the other holding a glass of champagne. These three weeks had been utterly exhilarating and completely frustrating. Leo was definitely losing his mind; there was no doubt about it. She hadn't been able to get him to agree to give her the restaurant, but it seemed like there were some days when he neither remembered he had a restaurant nor that he'd signed it over to the two of them. She had no doubt that shortly he'd either cave or she could coerce him into it and he wouldn't remember. It was a shame that his condo had been finished so quickly.

Georgia had ignored her all week; _probably the whoring bitch feels guilty. _It hadn't been until she'd left the message with Leo's move-in date that Georgia had actually returned her calls. And now here they stood, the three of them, celebrating the departure of the old codger. Georgia seemed to really hate him. _She's going to hate him even more shortly._ She turned to the two of them and said, "Here's to absence making the heart grow fonder. Wouldn't it be something if his absence was long enough for us to actually become fond of him." They all shared a laugh, even if it was for different reasons.

As they walked into the house, Regina took Georgia's glass and as she reached for Ken's glass, it slipped out of his hand. She looked at his face and it was pale as a sheet. She watched him clutch his bicep and fall back towards the door. She screamed, "Ken? What's the matter? KEN?" She dropped the glasses and grabbed him, still shrieking his name. She heard Georgia say something and then she ran from the foyer.

_He must be having a heart attack. What the hell? This is not happening._ Regina held Ken's head as he dropped to the floor. She held his head on her lap as she tried unsuccessfully to loosen his tie. Nothing was working. She couldn't take it; she called his name. When that didn't work, she kept calling his name; if it could pierce the silence, maybe he would hear and respond to it.

Suddenly Georgia was pushing her out of the way. _She's kissing Ken, what the fuck? _She tried to push Georgia away from Ken, but her hands wouldn't work. _No, no, no, no, no, _she said over and over to herself. And then there were men in her house; men with equipment. _What is happening?_

She looked around and realized she was in an ambulance and Ken was lying on the stretcher and there were tubes and she …

She blinked her eyes and realized she was in a waiting room of some sort and the TV was on and Georgia was there and the lighting was harsh and she was hungry and there was a man who was probably a doctor who said, "…sorry for your loss…" and she looked at Georgia and…

She turned her head to the left and the bed was empty and Ken's pajama pants were on the chair but he wasn't in the bed and the shower wasn't going and where was he…

Donny was shaking her hand and there was a line of people behind him and the priest was swinging a censer and it was burning something that stunk and a shovel tossed dirt down the hole and someone wanted her to toss a rose…

She was in her pajamas and Georgia was handing her a cup of tea and she woke up. "G…Ken was…Ken was 42. Who has a heart attack and dies at 42?"

Georgia had a look on her face that Regina loathed. It was a mix of smug pity and superiority. Regina guessed she had no idea how Regina really felt about her.

"I don't know, Regina." Regina stared at the wall as she listened to Georgia ask her about Ken's family

I don't know either," Regina said. "I never met his parents; they died before I met him." _Oh god, _she thought. "What am I going to do without him? I'm so alone."

Georgia tried to placate her by telling her she'd meet someone. _Like you met Ethan? _"I don't want to hear that. I'm not ready for that yet. Thanks for your help Georgia," _you sneaky, smug bitch, "_but would you please leave? I just want to be by myself right now."

_And by 'myself,' I mean 'not with you.'_

Georgia said she'd call tomorrow and left. _Good riddance._

Regina closed her eyes, but before she fell into sleep, she decided she'd call Ethan. _Ethan would be just the distraction I need right now_, she thought as she drifted into some much-needed sleep.

3

Ethan picked up his phone and looked at the incoming number. It was Georgia. _Am I in the mood for a booty call, _he thought and then smirked. _Hell yeah! _


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen 1

She tossed her keys and purse on the table and walked over to unlock the front door. She had told him she'd do that and that he could come right in. She walked upstairs, shed her clothing and got into the shower. She had some doubts about Ethan; he wasn't always available and was often furtive about where he'd been or where he was going. It hadn't been a problem when they first started sleeping together, but since she'd seen him flirt with Regina, she couldn't get that image out of her head. She needed to ignore that right now and she'd deal with it after they were finished today.

The shower was hot and she let the heat soak in and rinse away the day. She heard the bathroom door open and smiled. "Hey there. Care to join me?" She peeked out from the curtain to see him undressing. _God he looks so good, _she thought.

He stepped into the tub with a whistle, "Hot. And so's the water. Pass me the soap."

She rolled her eyes at the cheesy line, but was secretly pleased. She turned around to get the soap and he stepped in close and put his arms around her. She rubbed the soap into a lather and handed the bar to him. She turned around to face him and put her soapy hands on his chest. He put the soap down, put his arms around her once again and pulled her close, trapping her hands between them. He massaged her back, moving slowly down until he was kneading her ass. Then he knelt down, massaging the back of her legs on the way and when he reached her ankles, he brought his hands up the front and stopped at the top of her thighs. She spread her legs with a sigh as she wound her hand in his hair. He put his nose to her and inhaled. She pulled on his hair to get him to stand up, then turned around and shut off the water. "I want you to continue what you were about to do, but I want you in my bed." She handed him a towel and grabbed another for herself. She leaned in to kiss him and then led him into the bedroom. _This is perfect, just what I needed, _she thought as she pushed him down on the bed and climbed on after him. All jealousy and suspicion left her mind as she gave herself over to pure pleasure.

2

Regina woke up and rubbed her eyes. The light was wrong and she was hungry. She looked over at Ken's pajama pants folded up on the chair. She just stared at them. _It's late afternoon. That's why the sun is in the wrong place. We buried Ken this morning and then I told Georgia to go away. And then I was going to call Ethan._

_ What would Ken say if he knew I was thinking about Ethan. _She stood up and walked into the bathroom to turn on the shower. As she disrobed, she thought, _I have more important things to be concerned with right now._

Like what she was going to do about Bella Donna's and about Georgia and Ethan's little dalliance. If he was going to be screwing around with any of them, it should be with her. She had control over the finances and before long it would be the whole restaurant. A partnership between her and Ethan would be the most logical. And it wasn't like he hadn't shown any interest in her.

She turned off the water and dried herself. She felt better, more like herself. She went downstairs, fixed herself a drink and went to look for her cell phone. It was on the kitchen counter. She didn't remember putting it there, but then again, she didn't remember a lot from the last 3 days. She looked around the kitchen and noticed that someone had cleaned. _It was probably Georgia. I wonder if she feels guilty._

She looked down at her drink and was surprised to see it was empty. She fixed herself another one before picking up her phone. She actually felt relaxed right now and noticed how pleasant it felt.

"Hello?"

Regina was surprised that Leo picked up so quickly. "Hello Leo. I thought I would call to ask how you're settling into your new home."

"Not too bad. The dogs like it. How are you, Kid?"

"I've been better," she gritted her teeth. "Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?"

He was silent for what seemed to Regina a very long time.

"Leo? Still there?"

"Yeah Kid. What did you ask me?"

"I asked if I could take you to dinner tomorrow night?"

"Sure. It'll be good to see you. How long has it been?"

_Three days that feels like three weeks. _"Just a few days, Leo. I'll call you when I get on the road tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Say hello to Ken for me."

She winced, "Will do, Leo. See you tomorrow." She hung up before her voice could betray her. She grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. _I need another drink. How do they disappear so quickly? _She grabbed the phone again. She had four more calls to make before she could pour herself another drink.

First she called her business partner to tell him she was taking the next two weeks off. She arranged to divvy up her work load among their junior associates while she was going to be out. Summer was the slow season for them anyway, so she was confident they'd be able to handle everything while she was working out the details.

Next she called her lawyer and told her to draw up an amendment to the contract Leo had given them for the ownership transfer of Bella Donna's. It wasn't fully executed yet, thank god, so she'd be able to get the amended version drawn up and filed in its place before Georgia got wind of it. She'd pick up by at 2:00 and be on her way.

She decided that two out of four deserved a drink and poured herself another before she dialed Ethan.

"Hey you. I wondered when you'd be calling me."

"Ethan, I'm not really sure how to take that."

"I didn't mean anything by that, Sweetness."

Regina snorted. "You're an ass."

"Maybe, but I speak your language." He paused, "Seriously though, would you like some company? We could go get a drink somewhere."

"I would. How about tomorrow night? I know a great place we can get drinks."

"Where's that? I should make sure they're a client or at least someone that I could turn into a client."

_Oh they're a client alright. It's a little place I like to call Regina's Living Room. _"Why don't you just meet me here and let it be a surprise?"

He chuckled lowly, "A surprise, huh? Okay, I'm up for a surprise."

"Be here around 9pm," she said. She hung up and thought. _What do you bet he's here by 8:30?_

She poured herself one more drink and steeled herself to call Georgia. If she was going to pull the rug out from under her, she wanted to watch her like a hawk until all the pieces were in place. Regina invited her out for lunch the next day, then took her drink and stumbled out to the back patio to watch the sunset and think about Ken.

3

Christina stared at her left hand. She couldn't get used to that piece of jewelry. She was 18 and considered an adult, but the whole concept of being a "Mrs." still astonished her.

She wished she could tell Leo or her sisters, but none of them seemed to be talking to her. She understood about Leo. He was so stubborn about everything and she just had to work on him. She had time on her side, but she felt an urge to try to get through to him sooner rather than later.

Her sisters, on the other hand, were a mystery. There wasn't any reason for them to be ignoring her; at least that she knew. They hadn't had any arguments or harsh words among the three of them that she could remember. _I wonder if Leo had anything to do with it? I wonder if maybe he told them not to talk to me._ She shook her head. Leo was stubborn, but he wasn't mean. _Of course, it was mean of him to cut me out of his life. _

So, since none of them were talking to her, she'd put an announcement into the paper. She and Jack weren't engaged long enough to put an engagement announcement in, but she picked the best picture of the two of them from their little ceremony and submitted the wedding notice. She'd leafed through the papers every day since then to see if the announcement had been placed. Today was no different. She picked up the paper and rifled through it. She got as far as the Obituaries and stopped when she saw Ken's picture. _That can't be Ken, he's only in his forties, _she thought. But she looked at the name and it said Kendall Cornell. It was her brother-in-law.

_Oh my god, poor Regina._ She read the information, but it said the service had been on Monday. She'd missed it. _I can't believe no one called me_. Tears welled up in her eyes and she couldn't contain them. She got up to get a tissue to dry her eyes and noticed the slip of paper Jack had left on the phone table.

She picked it up and looked at it. _Ethan. It's Ethan's number. I wonder if he could help me talk to my sisters or if he knows what's going on with Leo._ She felt a small flutter in her belly as she reached for her phone to try.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen 1

The back doorbell rang and Georgia wiped her hands as she went to answer it. "Hi G. I just have to finish up here and then we can go." She let Regina in and closed the door behind her.

Regina followed her into the restaurant and walked behind the bar. "You don't mind if I drink some of the profits, do you?"

Georgia shook her head, "I'll be right out."

Regina poured herself a glass of wine out of one of the open bottles. Georgia watched her walk back around the bar and take a seat._ She doesn't usually drink wine. I wonder what that's all about, _she thought before turning and heading back into the kitchen.

She finished adding the ingredients to the pan and put it in the fridge. She was testing a new pastry appetizer on the staff tonight, but it needed to chill before it was cooked. She rinsed and dried her hands, took off her apron and met Regina back at the bar. "All set. Where would you like to go?"

Regina looked like she'd been startled out of a reverie, but she said smoothly, "I just want a quick salad, so it doesn't matter. You choose."

Georgia thought for a moment and suggested Caprese. It was a new restaurant that apparently served a similar menu, so she'd been meaning to check it out anyway. Regina said it was fine with her, so they locked up Bella Donna and drove over in Regina's car.

Georgia ordered a Panini and a soda, while Regina ordered a Caesar salad with shrimp and just water with lemon. _This just keeps getting stranger and stranger, _she thought.

The conversation was strained and about halfway through her salad, Regina seemed distracted and eager to leave. "I'm sorry Georgia. I just feel so restless. I took a leave of absence from the office because I can't concentrate. I think maybe I'll take a trip or something. Or maybe I'll go find a contractor and have the kitchen re-done. I don't know."

"It's okay Regina. It's normal. You need to find your place in the scheme of things now and I get it. What can I do?"

Regina didn't reply for a few moments while she looked out the window at the traffic going by, "Lunch tomorrow? You don't have so much to do at the restaurant that we can't have lunch again, do you?"

"I can do that for you. Don't worry. We can have lunch every day if you want. I don't have to be in until 3 tomorrow anyway, so why don't you come out to my house and we'll figure out what to do then."

"That sounds fine. Let's settle the bill here so I can get you back to work. I feel like a nap or something now."

Georgia thought Regina had never looked less like she wanted a nap, but she let it go. They paid the bill and Regina dropped her off at the back door before turning left out of the parking lot. _Nap my ass, _she thought, _if you were really going home, you'd have turned right. What are you up to? _Georgia mulled over that question while she pre-heated the oven and pulled the new appetizer out of the fridge.

2

Regina pulled her car up to the curb in front of Leo's new townhouse. She took a deep breath and sat there for a minute. She checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror. She looked to make sure the contract was in her bag for what was probably the seventeenth time. She checked her hair in the mirror. She pushed her sleeves up and then pulled them down with a huff.

_What the hell am I doing? It's like I'm a nervous teenager about to go on her first date. Pull yourself together for god's sake._

She got out of the car, shut the door and stood there for another moment. She looked around the neighborhood. It was all townhouses that looked exactly the same but for minor personalizations; a flag here, a flower garden there, crushed rock and clamshell pathways. It had a nice view across some golf course, but it was crowded here. _Too many people to know your business here,_ she thought with distaste.

She took a breath, hoisted her back onto her shoulder and walked up the path to his door. She could already hear the dogs barking before she stepped onto the small porch, so she thought she wouldn't have to ring the bell. She stood there for a moment while nothing happened and then reached out and pushed the button.

It was another 2 minutes before Leo came to open the door. He looked surprised to see her, "Hey Kid, what brings you by?"

_Oh for god's sakes, _she thought, _this is going to be too easy now. _She put on a smile and said, "Hi Leo. We had a date, don't you remember?" He shook his head, so she continued. "Your lawyer called you to say you'd forgotten to sign the Transfer Documents, so you asked him to have one of us bring it to you. None of us have seen your new place yet, so you wanted to show it off at the same time."

He scratched his head and rubbed his cheek. "Geez, I must have forgotten that. Well, come on in." He opened the door and she breezed in.

The two dogs came right over to her and she gave them each a quick scratch behind the ears. "Looks like they're settling in fine. How about you Leo?"

"Oh sure, sure," he said. "Those movers I hired put all the boxes in the right rooms, so I just had to unpack them. The clubhouse staff had a recommendation for someone to hire to do that for me and a whole crew was here on Sunday. Looks like I've been here all my life, doesn't it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Leo, three days of you being anywhere and it looks like you've been there all your life. Let's go get something to eat, okay?"

He gave her a quick tour around the rest of his townhouse, crated the dogs and they got into her car. "Have you been to Ocean's Edge yet Leo?"

"What's that, Kid?"

"Ocean's Edge? That big place up on the hill that I had to pass to get here? It looks like it probably has a nice place to eat."

He looked at her blankly for a moment and then recognition flooded his face, "Yeah, yeah. That's the place that owns the golf course in my back yard. I haven't been there since I got here, but I've been there a few times over the years. It's not bad. Let's go there."

She put the car in gear and they pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later. They were seated on a terrace with a lovely view of Cape Cod Bay in the distance. Their drinks came and while they were waiting for the meal, Regina made her move.

"So Leo, why don't you sign this while we wait. We'll get it out of the way and then we can enjoy dinner with a view." She pulled the paperwork out of her bag. "Your lawyer said you need to initial and date every page and then sign the last page where he's indicated. He said when I return it, he'll get it filed and Bella Donna's will officially belong to Georgia and me." She handed him a pen and the document. "Initial there."

She kept talking to distract him, "Leo, I just can't believe how generous you've been to us. This is an amazing gift and I know we'll do you proud." She flipped the page, "Initial there too. Leo, your lawyer said he wants to talk to you about your other estate documents too." She flipped the third page, "Initial here. He said that besides your estate, you also need to think about what to do about the dogs."

He looked up at her while she flipped to the signature page. "What do you mean?"

She smiled at him, "If anything were to happen to you, God Forbid, who would you want your dogs to be taken care of. Sign here." She pointed to the signature line, "Those dogs mean so much to you and I'm sure you'd want them in the best home possible."

He held the pen to the signature line, but hesitated. She continued, "Go ahead and sign it Leo. It will be one less thing to think about and then you can decide what to do about the dogs. All you need to do is call your lawyer and he can talk you through it. It's really important to make sure they're taken care of."

He shook his head and signed on the line. _Yesss! _She grabbed the pen and the contract and stuffed them into her bag as the waiter brought their meals. _Perfect timing, _she thought. "Leo, I don't have time to dawdle over this meal, so hurry up and eat please. I'll get you back home and then I have to run."

He looked at her blankly again and dug in. They spent the rest of the meal making small talk and Regina was never so glad to be able to drop him at his front door and speed away. She picked up her cell when she hit Route 6 and dialed Ethan's number. She growled when she got his voicemail before it even rang, but just hung up. _He'll see the missed call from me and if he hasn't called back by the time I hit the bridge I'll try again. _She tossed the phone on the passenger seat and patted her bag with the precious signed contract in it. She wouldn't get back in time for her lawyer to file it, but first thing in the morning would be fine.

3

"Hello?"

Christina almost lost her nerve and hung up.

"Hello?"

She took a breath, "Um… Hi Ethan. It's Christina. I'm Leo's daughter?" She paused, not really sure what she was going to say next."

"Yeah, hi. Sure. What can I do for you?"

"I'm not sure. I…um…" She closed her eyes. "I was wondering if you'd seen Leo or my sisters lately. I don't want to bother you with family business, but I know you work with them. None of them will talk to me and I just want to know if everyone is okay." She bit her lip.

He hesitated and she thought he was going to hang up on her. "I'm sorry to hear that Chris. I saw your sister Georgia this morning to, uh, go over the liquor order. She's doing fine. She's one amazing lady that can cook like no one I've ever met. She's going to take that restaurant places."

"And Regina? Oh my god, Ethan. I had to read about Ken in the paper; no one even called me."

"Man, that's terrible. I talked to her briefly last night. I can't believe she's already back at work. She's strong. She's okay from what I can tell. Before you ask, I haven't seen Leo. I don't think Donny has talked to him recently either. But I can see if Donny will give him a call, if you want?"

She sighed with relief. "Yes, that would be so great. I just want to know he's okay."

"How are you doing?"

"Oh, um, I'm okay." She felt weird about the question and even weirder about answering him. She'd reached out to Ethan for help, but she still didn't trust him. "Thanks for asking, Ethan. Will you call me as soon as you find out?"

He promised he would, so she said goodbye and hung up. The conversation had been civil and she didn't think there was any underlying meaning to anything he'd said, but she felt unsettled nonetheless.

4

Ethan pulled up to Regina's house 20 minutes early. He knew women appreciated it when you were on time. The house was dark and he wondered if he had the wrong address. _No, the number on the door matches._

He was pulling out his cell phone to call her when he saw headlights in his rearview mirror. He waited a minute to see where the car was going and it pulled into her driveway. He got out of his car and walked up the path. Regina had stopped her car outside the garage and was outside the car, but bent back over the driver's seat to pull a bag out. _Man, she's got one fine ass. _"Hey there," he called. "I just pulled up. Need help carrying anything?"

"No, I've got it. Thanks. You can take my keys though and open the door." She tossed the keys to him and he caught them in the air. He opened the front door and fished around for the light switch.

"It's on the wall opposite you," she called out.

"Ah, okay," he replied as he flipped the switch and the foyer was flooded with light. In front of him was a staircase, probably leading to the bedroom. To his right, he could see a large room with an overstuffed sectional and to his left, what must be an office.

Regina walked in the front door and headed to the left to put down her bag. "Head into the living room over there and I'll join you in a minute. Do you want a beer? Or maybe something stronger?"

He grinned and said, "A beer is fine." He turned and walked into the room with the sectional. The drapes were open, but he couldn't see any houses through the picture window. He turned around to take in the room. There was a big screen TV mounted on the wall with a full stereo setup. He sat down on the couch and ran his hand over the soft leather. _Damn, this is the life. I want this. I want her. _He heard footsteps and looked up to see Regina walking in with a beer in one hand and a cocktail in the other. He stood up and reached for the beer she was holding out, "Thanks."

"I poured myself something stronger."

"I see that. So, have a seat right here and tell me where we're going." He caressed the seat next to him and gave her a wink.

A small smile crept onto her face and she sat down. "Here's to a productive and mutually beneficial partnership," she said.

_Partnership. Mutually beneficial. Huh. _He mulled over those words for a few seconds before touching the neck of his beer bottle to the rim of her glass. "Cheers, Partner."

They each took a sip. He noticed that she grimaced after tasting hers, "What are you drinking?"

"A Vodka Martini, extra dirty. Not my favorite, but it seemed appropriate."

"And why would it be appropriate," he asked?

Regina hesitated. He watched pain, anxiety and lust cross her face before she replied, "It just is. Now, tell me why you want to spend time with me. Really."

_Do I tell the truth or do I tell her what she wants to hear, _he thought. _This one will appreciate the truth, I think. _"I'm not going to lie to you. I want to own Donny's business and I think you can help me with that."

She frowned, "Is that is?"

"No," he said without hesitating. "I want you too. You are incredibly hot and I've wanted you from the minute I laid eyes on you at Leo's party." He set his beer down and touched her earlobe with his fingers. They were chilled from the beer and it made her shiver. He ran his fingers down her neck, across her collar bone and down to her cleavage. Then, he leaned it to kiss her and she responded eagerly.

She broke it off, took a deep draught of her martini and put it down. "Tell me how you plan to own Donny's business."

"I've got much better things to talk about than Donny's business," he said as he reached for the top button of her shirt.

She slapped at his hand. "We'll get to that in a minute. Right now, I want to know how you plan on taking the most successful distributorship away from the man who's owned it for 30 years."

He sighed. "I don't have to take it. He'll give it to me eventually because he's my father." She raised her eyebrows and he continued, "But I don't want to wait for him to retire; I want it now. The commission checks are nice, but I know what his margin is and he's not paying me enough."

She looked at him incredulously, "Donny is your father? He never told us that."

He explained how he'd been able to find Donny last year and they'd developed enough of a relationship for Donny to offer him a job this past Spring. Donny didn't have any other children, so of course Ethan would inherit it. "But he abandoned my mother when he found out she was pregnant. She put me up for adoption because she couldn't take care of me herself. Don't get me wrong, the people I call my parents have been great to me. But, I'd say Donny owes me 18 years worth of parental responsibility and I intend on taking his business as payment."

She crawled onto his lap and he sat back to look at her. She put her hands on either side of his face and said, "You still haven't told me how you plan on taking it."

She was wriggling her hips and he couldn't think past how amazing that felt, "I'll tell you later."

"No. I want it now." She nipped his bottom lip and then snaked her tongue out and touch the same spot.

His breath hitched in his chest. "I need an investor and I'm going to buy him out."

"And I'm that investor."

"Fuck yeah. Uh…" She stopped moving her hips. "Oh man. Oh don't stop don't stop." He brought his hands up to her breasts but she pulled them away and pinned them to the wall over his head as she started grinding her hips on him again. He could have easily overpowered her, but he didn't want to.

She ran her tongue over his ear, breathing into it, "and what exactly will be my return on investment if I fund your little takeover?" She grabbed one of his hands and brought it down while leaving the other one pinned.

"Oh man. Anything. Anything you want. You…you… ah…" he breathed in sharply as she sucked his index finger into her mouth.

"I don't want just anything; I've got something specific in mind," she said.

He didn't care what it was. He was way past that point now.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen 1

Regina scrunched her eyes closed against the morning sun, but the she couldn't ignore the snoring beside her. _For chrissake. Note to self: Next time, kick him out BEFORE he falls asleep. _She got up and went downstairs to make herself some coffee. She was halfway through her second cup when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Hey. Where'd you go?"

"I'm in the kitchen," she said. "There's fresh coffee."

"Mmm. Coffee," he replied.

She watched him silently as he filled his mug and came to sit down beside her. She let him have a few sips and then said, "I want to have a conversation about my investment."

"Mmm. Sure thing. I'm not really awake yet though. What do you want to know?"

She studied his face for a few seconds and then asked him how much Donny's business was worth. He seemed to think that Donny might sell for a multiple of two and a half. "There's no way we're paying that much for it," she said.

"Yeah, it would almost be better if we could get him to let me buy a half-share partnership and then hope he drops dead." Regina stared at him. He laughed nervously, "Heh, not that I wish that for anyone. Ah, goddam, Regina. I'm sorry I said that."

She studied his face before replying, "I was thinking the same thing." He frowned. She wasn't sure whether that look meant disapproval or confusion. She continued, "Listen. I'll invest in the distributorship. I'll have my lawyer draw up the paperwork as soon as you agree with my terms, but I want you to do something for me first."

"Anything, Baby. What do you want?"

"I want you to kill Leo." The silence hung in the air.

2

Georgia heard Regina's car pull into the driveway, so she got up and opened the front door. Regina was just getting out of the car and tossed a wave in her direction before opening the back door and pulling out her purse. "Hi Gina," she said as she held the door open.

Regina walked in, dropped her purse on the table and crossed to the kitchen. "How about some coffee, G?" She took a look at the coffeemaker, "Where's the pot?"

"That was one of the casualties from Leo's brief residence. I haven't replaced it yet."

"Sacrilege! How can you possibly wake up without coffee in the morning?"

"I've been having tea, but I also pass four Dunkins on the way to work," she replied. "So where do you want to go for lunch?"

Regina thought for a second and then suggested Spoodles, "It's downtown and I've got some business in the area afterwards. Sound ok to you, G?"

_That's where the lawyer's office is, _Georgia thought. _I wonder if she has to go deal with Ken's estate or if she's got something else up her sleeve. _"Are you headed to Attorney Dumas's office? Want me to go with you?"

Regina flinched, "Yes. Some last details to tie up. But I'm fine. I'd rather just deal with this alone, if you don't mind."

"Sure, no problem." _That was really vague. _"Well, let's go. I'm hungry and you've got stuff to do, it sounds like. I'll follow you."

Georgia pulled out of the garage and followed Regina down the street. Something was definitely up with her. It made sense that Regina was distracted and distant because of her grief over Ken. But the Regina that she knew was strong, driven and sometimes heartless. She should be working or fixing herself a cocktail or joking about how ridiculous it was when Leo was living with them. Or maybe gossiping about Christina and this kid Jack. What was really going on in Regina's head? _Maybe I can get it out of her at lunch, _she thought. But then remembered that Spoodles didn't have a liquor license and it was highly unlikely Regina would dish while completely sober. _I'll suggest someplace with a bar for lunch tomorrow. That'll get her singing._

3

Christina and Jack rode in silence down to the Cape. Christina was lost in thought about what she was going to do or say to get Leo to talk to her. She saw a sign for Brewster and her stomach gave a turn. _It's nerves, not the baby, _she thought to herself. _I'm just upset over what he might do or say. _"What if he won't talk to me?" she asked Jack.

"Then he won't talk to you," he replied. "I know how much this upsets you, but you just have to give him time to calm down."

"But I've given him time," she choked out. "He's still mad. I just know."

"Babe, we'll deal with that when we know for sure. And we'll know in about 15 minutes or so."

The GPS directed them to the address Ethan had given her. She still didn't like him very much, but he'd at least been kind enough to let her know where Leo lived and he seemed like he was willing to help. _I just don't trust him as far as I could throw him. I wish I knew why._

Jack pulled onto the street and they looked for Leo's house number. They sat idling in the car before Jack reached out and took her hand and said, "Ready Baby?"

Christina opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She nodded her head instead. They got out of the car and walked up the short path to the front door. She took a deep breath while Jack rubbed her back and then reached out and rang the doorbell.

She could hear the dogs react inside and tensed up waiting for Leo to open the door. The knob turned and the door opened and Leo was there staring at her. He looked like he hadn't taken a shower in a week and he just stared at her, "Yeah?"

"Dad?" she asked quietly.

Leo was silent for a moment and then his face clouded over. He drew his eyebrows down in a frown, stepped back and slammed the door.

Jack grabbed her hand and put his other arm around her while she stifled a sob.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen 1

_Why the fuck did I agree to this?_ _All I wanted was what was rightly mine, _Ethan thought to himself. _Who said, "If you lie down with dogs, you'll rise with fleas?" _Not that Georgia or Regina were dogs, exactly, but his grand plan seemed to have gone astray and it seemed like there was no coming back.

Regina had coerced him into this by dangling the two carrots he just could not resist: pussy and money. The rush you got from one or the other was enough, but put the two of them together and he felt like he could implode and be happy about it. As she was on top riding him, she reached into her nightstand and pulled out a check in his name with an obscene amount of numbers written on it, but she wouldn't give it to him until the deed was done. _Fuck, she's manipulative._

Ethan put his bag into the trunk and shut it. It was a grey Toyota Camry he'd rented at the Rent-A-Wreck place down the street. They took cash and didn't ask for a credit card deposit. He'd spent the last three weeks driving around Leo's neighborhood at various times of the day and night to see what the most common car was and settled on the Camry. He didn't like the grey, because it would be easier to see at night than black would; but he saw tons of them in Brewster and knew it would be harder to figure out if the car belonged to a neighbor or a tourist.

The bag contained items that he'd gathered over the last few weeks to help pull this crazy idea off. He'd gotten one of the bartenders at Benny's to steal some chloroform from his Chemistry lab. The kid was paying for college by bartending at night and when Ethan told him he needed a small amount to experiment with using it as a refrigerant for some of the special alcohols, the kid was more than happy to smuggle some out. Regina had given him a key to Leo's condo and the security code. He'd purchased a wetsuit and headlamp from REI and a pony bottle scuba tank, weight belt and fins from some random website; used rollerblades from a yard sale; two full sets of all-black clothing, a towel, rubber gloves and sneakers; some lighter fluid, matches and the paperwork for a one-night, mid-week campsite at Nickerson under the name Edmund Gloucester; and a couple of ham bones from the butcher, along with 2 Kongs pre-loaded with dog treats and peanut butter. The only other thing in the truck was a rake. Hopefully, he'd prepared for everything.

He got behind the wheel and sat there for a couple of minutes while he steeled himself for the task he'd promised Regina he'd pull off. In between trying to prepare for this, he'd still been doing her sister Georgia. And often enough that she wouldn't suspect anything was going on. Ultimately, he knew she'd come around, but based on how Georgia had acted at the restaurant when he'd been flirting with them both, he knew that would take a little more time. So he'd been paying extra attention to her. _I gotta get her off my mind if I'm gonna do this, _he thought as he shook his head. He started the car and headed towards the Cape.

He pulled into Nickerson about two hours later, registered and drove in to find his campsite. He built a small fire and sat watching it until about 2am, then drove out to find Robbin's Hill Road. He parked the car in the driveway of an empty house with a "For Sale" sign on the lawn. He opened the truck and made sure he had everything he needed in his backpack, then put on the rollerblades and headlamp and started towards Leo's. It was 6 miles, but on the rollerblades, he'd be able to do that in under an hour.

_For summertime, there's not really any traffic, _he thought. He'd seen maybe half a dozen cars the whole way over. Not that it was a bad thing; the fewer witnesses who remembered seeing a guy out rollerblading at 3am, the better. He stopped at the corner of Leo's street and shrugged off the backpack. He put on the rubber gloves, unpacked the hambones, the key and the code and put the backpack on again. He rolled up to Leo's front door and let himself in, disarming the code as soon as he got inside.

The dogs were in the foyer growling at him before he even hit the off button. He held up the hambones as he spoke quietly to them, "Good puppies. Good boys. Are you hungry you mangy mutts? Sit. Siiiiit." They surveyed him and the hambones and decided his offering was pleasing. They both sat and one of them offered a paw. Ethan smiled and extended the hambones so they could take them, "Good boys." He took the Kongs out of his backpack and left them on the foyer. After they were done with the bones, they'd be kept busy trying to get the dog treats out past the peanut butter.

He took out the chloroform and soaked the cloth with it. Leo clearly hadn't heard him come in because Ethan could hear him snoring. _For chrissakes, that must have driven Georgia and Regina crazy. I'm glad I don't snore. _He padded down the hall and opened the door to Leo's bedroom. He inched his way over the Leo's bed. Leo was completely covered with the sheet and blanket, which made Ethan's job easier. As he leaned one knee on top of the blanket, he covered Leo's nose and mouth and threw his other leg over Leo. Leo woke up, but Ethan had him trapped under the blankets and he didn't struggle for long before he succumbed to the sedative.

Just to be safe, Ethan waited another two minutes after Leo stopped struggling and got up to look for Leo's car keys. The dogs were still happily gnawing away at the hambones. The keys were hanging on a hook by the door to the garage. He opened the door to the garage and unlocked the car, opening the passenger door.

He went back in the house, hefted Leo out of bed and brought him to the car. _Dead weight, that's what he feels like. _He stifled a maniacal giggle at the thought as he sat him in the passenger seat and buckled him in.

He went back in and made Leo's bed. After packing the cloth in his backpack, he took a quick look around the room and the foyer to make sure everything was in order and that he hadn't forgotten something. Everything looked fine. He grabbed Leo's phone from the counter, raised the garage door, set the alarm and pulled the car out of the garage.

He was back at Robbin's Hill Beach in no time. He didn't see any passing traffic this time around and hoped that meant he was safe. He parked as close the sand as he could get and went around to the trunk to get into the wetsuit. He shrugged out his clothes and clipped the pony tank and fins to the weight belt in back and returned to Leo. He gave him another dose of the chloroform and pulled him out of the car. _Leo feels heavier now, _he thought. Ethan struggled his way down to the water and set Leo down in the sand while he put on his flippers. He dragged Leo out into the water and as soon as he was deep enough, pulled him under and held him until there was no movement left. Leo never regained consciousness to struggle and it was easier than Ethan would have imagined. _Holy fuck, what have I just done? _He shook his head, unclasped the pony tank and started towing Leo's body deeper into the bay.

He decided he'd gone far enough, left Leo in the water and headed back to the beach. He reached the breakwater and crawled up onto the rocks. He didn't want to leave tracks going the other way, so he edged up the rocks as far as he could before having to walk on the sand. He made his way back to his car, pulled out the rake and went back to obscure his exit tracks. When he was satisfied that it looked natural, he went back and started Leo's car. He left the door open, tossed Leo's phone into the console cup holder, walked back to his car and returned to the campground. On the way through, he tossed the rollerblades into the dumpster.

He peeled off the wetsuit, toweled off and changed into dry clothes. He built the fire back up and burned the paperwork and first set of clothes in their entirety before dousing the fire and leaving the campground. He pulled off an exit up 495, threw the wetsuit and chloroform into a dumpster at a fast food place and continued home. He knew he should call Regina and let her know the deed was done, but he couldn't face her right now. He needed deal with the reality of what he'd just done first.

2

Georgia woke up and stretched. The last three weeks had been simultaneously completely satisfying and utterly frustrating. At first, she'd spent a lot of time with Regina. Although it wasn't really the same, she knew what it was like to lose a husband. After the first few days, Regina had seemed to come around and start to take charge of her life again, so Georgia had gone back to managing the restaurant, which had suffered from her lack of attention.

She needed to sit down and plan their liquor menu with Ethan. The problem was, she'd rather get down to business with him than talk business with him. And they'd gotten down to business a lot in the last three weeks. She hadn't asked him about Regina, or if he was sleeping with anyone else, but the fact that Regina seemed self absorbed right now and Ethan was spending more time with her seemed to answer that unasked question.

She lay in bed for a few more minutes, reticent to leave the warmth, but she wanted to plan the new fall specials and that required going to her office. So, she got up, put on a robe and went downstairs to make tea. She popped an English muffin in the toaster while the water was heating. When it was done, she topped it with her homemade avocado butter and sat down with her cup to read the paper. She'd gotten just a couple bites in when there was a pounding on the front door. _What the hell¸_ she thought?

Georgia looked out the sidelight and saw the young man who was with Christina at the party. She tied her robe closed and opened the door. Christina was standing next to the young man and she was a wreck. She hadn't seen her since Leo's party and it wasn't like her to just come over uninvited. Georgia was suddenly worried, "Christina? What the matter?"

"Oh Georgia, I've been trying to reach you all morning. Is your phone off? Can Jack and I come in?" She sobbed and grabbed Georgia.

"Yeah, come in. What is it?"

Christina broke down and couldn't answer. Georgia led them into the living room and as they sat, Jack spoke. "Georgia, my name is Jack, Jack Lefevre. I'm your sister's husband."

"What? That's… huh?"

"We got married last month, but that's not why we're here. Georgia. I'm so sorry. Your father was reported missing yesterday after they found his car running at Robbin's Hill Beach with the driver's door open. The coast guard found him in the water a little while later. He didn't survive."

Christina choked out a sob. "I didn't even get to tell him about me and Jack. He wouldn't take my calls and when I tried to see him, he shut the door in my face. Georgia, why would he treat me like that when I loved him so much?"

Georgia reeled at the news. Leo was a bastard, but she hadn't wished him harm. She'd just wanted him to get out of her house so things could get back to normal. This was crazy; Regina's husband last month and now Leo. She didn't know what to say. She didn't have a plan for this.

"Georgia? Georgia? Please say something. Please. I can't stand that you don't know what to do. You always know what to do."

Jack brushed Christina's hair out of her eyes, "Honey, shhhh. It's ok. Let it sink in."

Georgia looked at the two of them. How did they happen without her knowing about it? She shook her head. It wasn't important. Leo was what's important. She cleared her head and said, "Okay. Jack, Christina, how did you find out? Who called you?"

Jack answered, "Leo's cell phone was still in his car. Christina has the same last name as his and was listed under ICE, so the police called her. They don't think there was foul play. They think he just wandered into the water, was swept out by the current and drowned. His body is at the coroner's office, waiting for us, you, to tell them which funeral home to transfer him to. They gave us a card for you to call them."

Georgia thought briefly about calling Regina, then thought about calling Ethan and dismissed both thoughts. She'd call her sister after she got off the phone with the police, the funeral home and the lawyer and then she'd call Ethan after Jack and Christina left. She didn't know how much more of this crap she could take.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen 1

Georgia felt like her face would crack. Her feet and her back hurt from standing. She knew Leo had been well regarded, after all, she'd had to restrict the list for his birthday party to 125; but this constant stream of people for the last three hours was ridiculous. _I wonder what people would think of him if they knew him like I knew him, _she thought. _ He wasn't the same person they keep describing. This is bullshit._

Donny came through the line and engulfed her in a hug. He was broken up, but she thought he might have been Leo's closest friend and couldn't blame him for that. But as soon as she saw him, she looked around for Ethan. It was evening, so she didn't think Donny would have shown up with all of his employees, but maybe... As she looked left past Donny, she noticed that Regina wasn't in line anymore. She looked right to the rows of chairs where Leo's fans had congregated, but he wasn't there either. She needed a break. The line was still out the door, but she just needed to sit down for a minute. Christina and Jack were still in line, so she excused herself and headed towards the back where the restrooms were. A few minutes to herself in the restroom wouldn't hurt.

She glanced in through the office door on her way past and froze. The door was open just a crack, but it was open enough for her to recognize Regina. Her back was to the door and she had an arm around her. She couldn't hear everything, but she recognized the voice.

"...okay Baby. You're doing… she'll never know… shhhh… no, no… I'm sure."

Georgia backed away and went into the ladies room. She was sure Ethan hadn't seen her. But what had _she_ just seen? She'd seen her Ethan comforting Regina. And if that wasn't bad enough, she was sure they'd been talking about her, about whether she'd find out about them. This couldn't be happening. Ethan was hers. How could Regina do this to her? And after she'd just taken charge of Ken's funeral and done everything she could to support her ungrateful bitch of a sister. This was too much. Too much.

She couldn't think about this right now. Leo was lying in a casket in the other room and there was a line of people waiting to give their condolences. She had to get back in line, focus on the task at hand and then she could plan out what she was going to do about Regina. She composed herself and walked back to the front room. Jack had his arm around Christina and if Georgia wasn't so incensed about Ethan, she'd have thought the supportive gesture was touching. Instead, she thought it was patronizing. Christina had doted on Leo and he'd lost his mind. No doubt she turned to Jack for comfort and he ate it up because it made him feel like a king, like a million bucks. _How pathetic, _she groused to herself.

The next few people that greeted her took a step back as they noticed Georgia's expression. _I wonder if I look like the dutiful, grieving daughter or just a mad woman? _She took a deep breath, held it and slowly let it out. She needed to calm herself so no one suspected anything. Her heart rate slowed down and she again was able to greet the mourners without alarming them.

Regina walked back to her place in line, but wouldn't look at Georgia. _Maybe that's why she's seemed self-absorbed lately, _Georgia looked around and noticed Ethan slip in the back like he was just getting there. She pasted a grin on her face and gave him a little wave. He glanced at Regina and then back at Georgia before giving her a return wave. _I didn't imagine it. The fucker is slipping it to my sister behind my back. _She glanced at Regina, but Regina was busy talking to someone Georgia vaguely recognized from her past. _It's funny¸_ she thought. _I didn't give two shakes if he was sleeping with someone (or someones) else, but as soon as that someone was my sister…_ _This is Leo's fault. This all started as soon as he handed over Bella Donna's to us. _A bitter grin grew on her face and at that moment, she no longer cared whether everyone thought she was a mad woman. She had a plan.

2

Regina had had enough of saying, "Thank you," and appearing to be a grieving, dutiful daughter. _I'm so dutiful, I arranged a hit on him before people had a chance to figure out he'd gone mad._ Her feet and back hurt from standing and she thought her face might crack from the fake sorrow she had plastered on her face. She glanced over at Georgia and saw she was occupied with yet another of Leo's biggest fans, so she took her opportunity and steeped outside to wait for Ethan.

She didn't have to wait long. Just two or three minutes later, Donny pulled into the parking lot with Ethan in the passenger seat. The two of them approached her and Donny awkwardly tried to hug her. "Donny, I know how much Leo meant to you, but really, I'm fine. Please go inside and pay your respects. I want to have a word with Ethan anyway."

Donny nodded his head and lumbered inside.

"You," she said, looking directly at Ethan. "Follow me."

She headed back inside and made a beeline to the office. No one would see them in there with the door shut. Ethan stepped into the office and turned around as she gave the door a shove and stepped towards him. She grabbed his package and stared him straight in the eye as he gasped. "You make nice with my sister and don't let her know about us. I may look like I'm doing fine, but I'm a hot, holy mess and everyone and his brother are aggravating me right now. I don't need anyone knowing anything I'm not ready to reveal just yet."

He put his hand over hers and trapped it. Then he put his other hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer. "For a 'hot, holy mess,' you are one fine piece of ass. Everything is a-okay, Baby. You're doing just fine. Donny doesn't suspect anything and no one looked twice at us when we walked in. She will never know."

Regina hissed at him, "And you haven't told anyone where you were or what you were doing?"

Ethan recoiled from how harsh her voice was, "Shhhh. I haven't told anyone; I swear. I mean, who would I tell anyway. Donny? Your sister?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I still have time to cancel that check."

"No, no, no. I did what you asked. I'm sure no one knows and I'm sure as hell not going to tell anyone what I did. Where would that get me and where would that get you?"

She stared at him for a minute. He'd been squirrelly these last few days. She knew he was still trying to come to grips with what he'd done, but if he was going to take over the keys to the kingdom, he needed to man up and understand that he needed to do the things he needed to do. "It's okay. Relax Ethan, I don't mean anything by that. It's been a crazy few weeks and I'm glad you've been here to share them with me."

He visibly relaxed and she continued, "I need to get back into line. I'm going to ignore you for the rest of this charade, but I'll make it up to you tonight if you want to join me at home afterwards."

He nodded. She turned around and went to leave. The door was ajar. _Shit, _she thought. _I hope no one heard our conversation. _She headed back to the line without looking at anyone. She was busy thinking about how to broach the subject of her relationship with Ethan to Georgia. She shook her head to clear her mind. _I'll deal with that tomorrow._

3

Christina stood in line with Jack and kept stealing glances at Georgia and Regina. She was afraid her face would give her away to her sisters. Her back and feet hurt from standing, but she didn't want to sit down in case she couldn't get back up again. They were both acting so strange.

The next day, Jack encouraged her to go to the lawyer's to find out about what would happen in Probate with Leo's estate. The lawyer overloaded her with details about the restaurant and Leo's condo and life insurance and mutual funds until her head was swimming. He said she was still listed as beneficiary to a lot of it, so apparently Leo hadn't had time to completely disinherit her. Or maybe he still loved her and hadn't meant any of those cruel things he said.

The shocking thing she came away with, even more than the news that Leo hadn't cut her off entirely, was that he'd given the restaurant to Regina only. And apparently that had happened sometime within the last month. She wondered if Georgia knew and if it had had anything to do with the time he'd spent at each of their houses. She knew he'd gone to Georgia's house first, but that he'd ended up at Regina's shortly before his condo was ready.

She wondered if Georgia knew and whether it was worth it to tell her. The lawyer had set up an appointment to read Leo's will to the three of them later in the week. _Do I want to be the one to tell my sister if she really doesn't know?_ Ultimately, she decided she would and that she'd tell her about the baby at the same time. Maybe that would soften the blow. Everybody loved babies, right?

She picked up the phone and dialed Georgia's number. It rang 5 times before Georgia picked up, "Chris?"

She took a deep breath and said, "Hi Georgia, it's me. Do you have a minute? I have something I need to tell you."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen 1

Georgia would make her signature Wild Mushroom Risotto for Regina. She'd like that. They all liked it. And for good reason; it was delicious. Her secret was to add just a hint of … Well, this time, the secret ingredient would be belladonna. How appropriate. Belladonna at Bella Donna's.

Georgia grabbed the kitchen shears and walked out to the front of the restaurant to take some cuttings from the shrub by the sign. It had grown so tall this summer, but she just hadn't had time to prune it. A handful of the berries and some of the leaves would do nicely. The deep purple berries would look perfect in the risotto and if she chopped the leaves finely enough, they'd look like herbs. The berries were sweet and would balance the nut-like flavor of the mushrooms. She'd throw some more of the berries in with the goat cheese salad; they'd blend with the cranberries and blueberries. There'd be no way to avoid them.

The restaurant was closed on Mondays, so she had the place to herself. As she prepared the deadly meal, she thought about how the rest of Sunday went. After the calling hours, they'd gone to the cemetery. Georgia had stood next to Regina and linked her arm. Regina had tolerated it. Barely. Christina and Jack stood on the other side of the grave holding hands. Now that Georgia was looking at her face on, Christina looked like she'd put on weight; her dress was tight at her hips and breasts. _I wonder if she's pregnant. That would explain why she got married at 18. Idiot._

After the graveside ceremony, they'd gone to Georgia's house. She'd had a light meal catered so she didn't have to think about it. The mourners had thinned out by then and Ethan hadn't joined them. In a quiet moment, she'd asked Regina to come to the restaurant today. At first, Regina had said she was busy. _She probably thinks she's going to be letting Ethan comfort her_, Georgia thought bitterly. But after Georgia made up some bullshit reason about wanting to discuss involving Regina more in Bella Donna's operations, she'd acquiesced. And after everyone went home, she'd called Ethan and asked him to come to dinner too. She knew she'd given Regina enough time to talk to him and let him know she was going to be at the restaurant. She'd told him she wanted to make some changes to the fall menu and change the wine offerings to go with it. She hadn't mentioned that Regina was going to be there, but she was certain he already knew.

The meal was almost ready, so she went and set a table for the three of them. She arranged the silverware and set out two salads. Then she opened the bottle of Chateneuf du Pape she'd picked up earlier and poured out three glasses. It seemed a little ridiculous to have spent so much money on a bottle of wine, but she wanted to make it seem like they were all celebrating something.

She heard the door open and looked up. Ethan was holding the door open for Regina. They'd come here together, like she'd suspected they might. Ethan's face held a mixture of bemusement and barely-concealed lust. She loved that look. Regina's face just looked anxious.

Georgia picked up a wine glass and let them walk over to her. She handed it to Regina, who opened her mouth to say something, but Georgia cut her off. "Gina. You look like a kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar." Georgia gave her a warm hug and then turned around to get another glass of wine. She handed that one to Ethan and leaned into kiss him, causing Regina to inhale sharply. He reached up to put his hand in her hair, but Georgia pulled away and grabbed the other glass. She raised it slightly and said, "Here's to sisters and all the things they share."

Regina blanched as Georgia took a sip of the wine. She let the flavor swirl on her tongue before she swallowed and then continued, "Regina. I can see that you're carrying on with Ethan. I completely get it. You're lonely without Ken and Ethan makes you feel good. Understandable. I assume you know he also has been making me feel good too; making me forget about Allan. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. He's been the perfect addition to my life and this business and there's no reason why you should be taking advantage of him either. I'm surprised it took you so long."

Regina was silent.

Ethan grinned, put his glass down and put an arm around each of the sisters. He leaned in to kiss Regina, "Relax, baby. Georgia is cool with it. I told you she would be." He looked at Georgia, "You're amazing."

"I know. Dinner is almost ready. Why don't you enjoy the wine and your salads while I finish dinner and bring it out?" She turned without looking back and them and walked into the kitchen.

2

Christina woke up with a start. Her heart was pounding and her stomach hurt.

"What's wrong, Honey?" Jack said sleepily.

"Oh Jack," she stifled a sob. "I just had a bad dream, I think."

"Tell me about it," he said.

She was silent for a few moments while she gathered her thoughts. "I was dreaming that I was in France and could hear Leo singing. He was so sad and was singing a song about the two of us being birds in a cage and that if I'd forgive him, we'd laugh and tell old stories and discover life's mysteries together. I went to get on a plane to go to him and tell him there was nothing to forgive, but I saw Ethan walking hand in hand with Georgia and Regina and I couldn't catch my breath. It was like there was something around my neck and I couldn't breathe." She couldn't hold back any more; she sobbed and sobbed and took comfort in Jack's arms.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Georgia gave them a good 20 minutes to talk while she arranged three dinner plates. She dished out the larger batch of risotto onto two dishes and then the separate batch onto her plate. She added the steamed asparagus to all three plates, arranging it carefully and added a curl of orange and a couple sprigs of parsley. She put her plate in the crook of her arm and grabbed the other two plates.

As she was walking to the table, Regina and Ethan straightened up. They had been huddling together and murmuring to each other. She noted with some satisfaction that they'd eaten their salads. She put Ethan's plate down, grabbed Regina's and as she was placing it, Regina said, "G. I'm so sorry I've been crazy. I feel like if anybody knew I'm already sleeping with someone with Ken gone so recently, they'll think I'd been doing it all along. Not that I give a rat's ass about what people think, but I don't want anyone thinking Ken was being cheated on. And I should have told you. I should have. But you're so rigid about everything… Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Georgia put the plate down. "I invited you both for dinner, didn't I?" She put her plate down and sat. She reached over and patted their hands and said, "Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me." Then, she picked up her wine glass and said, "Cheers."

They all dug in. Georgia watched them closely as they ate. She made sure their wine glasses stayed full. They'd have similar symptoms to having too much to drink and she wasn't taking any chances. They talked about the restaurant and Georgia made up some imaginary function that Regina could fill. They talked about the menu and what kinds of new wines Ethan could offer. They complimented her cooking and each cleaned their plates. After a while, Ethan steered the conversation back to the three of them and suggested that since Georgia was suddenly so liberal, maybe they'd like to head someplace where they all could relax and get to know each other in a whole new way.

Georgia looked at Regina, who was slightly flushed, and raised her eyebrows, "How about it, Sis? I'm game if you are."

A frown briefly crossed Regina's face and she stood up. Her face went blank for a moment as she swayed a little and plopped back down into her chair, "Whooo. I think I've had too mussh to drink. Would you get me a glass of water, G?"

Georgia walked behind the bar and tossed back over her shoulder, "No problem, but you didn't answer my question." She brought the water back and brushed Regina's hair out of her face. "What do you think?" She turned to Ethan, who'd pushed his chair back from the table. He was flushed too. She straddled him and sat down, then kissed him. She turned back to her sister and said, "Why don't you two head back to your place. Let me finish up here and I'll join you shortly. I'll be about 10 minutes behind you." Regina nodded.

She turned back to Ethan. She could feel his hardness and thought, _dammit. I'll miss this._ She snaked her hand down to his crotch and gave him a squeeze. "Don't finish anything before I get there." He moaned and kissed her deeply. She stood up.

Ethan stood up too, took Regina's hand and pulled her up into a kiss. Then he turned to Georgia and said, "We'll see you there in a few minutes. Hurry up." He and Regina walked out the door hand in hand.

_I don't need to hurry up. By the time you get to Regina's, you'll be hallucinating. I just hope neither of them goes into convulsions. If they call 911… _She shook her head. That wasn't part of the plan. She was confident they'd make it to Regina's and then thinking they'd both had too much to drink, lie down and pass out. _Problem solved¸ _she thought. _There's just one step left._

She grabbed a tray and cleared the table. After she'd brought everything into the kitchen, she carefully scraped all the leftovers into a bag and brought them to the dumpster. She didn't want anyone else coming in contact with it. She went back in, washed the dishes and made sure everything was properly put away. She drove home.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

She thought about leaving a note telling Allan what she did, but she decided she didn't care enough about him anymore after what he'd done to her. She went upstairs to draw a bath. While the tub was filling, she took out her sleeping pills and headed back down to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of wine, took half a dozen pills, grabbed the paring knife and walked upstairs. She changed her mind about the note, but instead of leaving it for Allan, she addressed it to Christina.

_Christina – You know Regina and Ethan betrayed me in the cruelest way imaginable. I can't forgive them; I suppose I get that stubbornness from Leo. I fully accept the responsibility for what I did to them in return, but I can't go to jail for it. I will dole out my own punishment myself. I know you won't understand this, but sometimes you get mired in the minutiae and can't get out from under it any other way. Life goes on around you, but doesn't include you. It's better this way. If this letter will stand up in a probate court, I want you to have my share of everything and hopefully the restaurant will go to you. You're going to need it for that baby. You're an idiot for letting yourself get pregnant. Life goes on. -Georgia_

She lit candles in the bathroom, turned off the overhead light and eased herself into the water. It was warm and relaxing. She could feel the effects of the wine and was starting to get sleepy from the pills. She grabbed the knife and held it up. The light glinted off the side of the bevel and she thought, _it's kind of funny how appropriate it was to name the restaurant Bella Donna's. It was as if Leo had poisoned us all, himself included, as soon as he established it._

She brought the knife to her wrist, took a deep breath and finished the last step in her plan.

~ The End ~


End file.
